NEW YORK, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Education has given colleges and schools with race-specific programs, including financial aid and racially themed dormitory floors and graduation ceremonies, until the end of the month to abolish them or risk losing federal funding as educators scrambled over the holiday weekend to interpret the sweeping scope of new guidelines.
"The 'dear colleague' letter from the department's civil rights division and addressed to K-12-and-higher education leaders lays out a new federal anti-discrimination enforcement policy that extends beyond the use of race in admissions, a practice barred since 2023 by the U.S. Supreme Court," noted the Los Angeles Times on Monday in its report about the move.
The guidelines, signed by acting assistant secretary for civil rights Craig Trainor, said schools using "race in decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life" were in violation of anti-discrimination laws and legal precedent set in the high court's affirmative action case.
"The department will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this nation's educational institutions," the letter said. It later added that federal education authorities will "vigorously enforce the law on equal terms as to all preschool, elementary, secondary, and post-secondary educational institutions, as well as state educational agencies, that receive financial assistance."
The letter singles out "white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families," as victims of discrimination. It did not mention other types of school programming that appeal to non-racial groups, such as women-only residence halls, dorm room floors or programs for LGBTQ+ students or religious communities. ■
