Case Particulars

Tribunal

Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights

Date Filed

March 17, 2026

Docket No.

N/A

Case Status

OCR Complaint Filed

Case Overview

On March 17, 2026, the Equal Protection Project (EPP) filed a Civil Rights Complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) against Jacksonville State University (“Jax State”) for offering 5 discriminatory scholarships based on sex, race, color, and/or national origin in violation of Title IX and VI.

EPP’s Complaint states:

The scholarships listed below are currently offered to Jax State students and applicants for admission, according to the Jax State website, and violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) and its implementing regulations3 by discriminating against students based on their sex, or Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”) and its implementing regulations4 by discriminating against students based on their race and skin color. Because Jax State is a public university, these discriminatory scholarships also violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The Complaint uses Jax State’s own websites to demonstrate the discriminatory nature of the programs.

Next, the Complaint further explains why the scholarships violate federal law:

Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education. The statute provides: “[n]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a). Accordingly, a school receiving federal funding may not administer scholarships, fellowships, or other forms of financial assistance that impose preferences or restrictions based on sex, except in limited exceptions that are not applicable here. See 34 C.F.R. § 106.37(a).

 

Restrictions that limit eligibility for scholarships based on sex are underinclusive, as they arbitrarily exclude students who would otherwise qualify. While sex-based classifications are subject to “heightened” scrutiny, Sessions v. Morales-Santana, 582 U.S. 47, 57 (2017); United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515, 532–34 (1996), this standard—though less exacting than the strict scrutiny applied to race-based classifications—still requires an “exceedingly persuasive justification.” Virginia, 518 U.S. at 531. To meet this burden, the government must demonstrate “at least that the [challenged] classification serves important governmental objectives and that the discriminatory means employed are substantially related to the achievement of those objectives.” Id. at 533…

 

Title VI prohibits intentional discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any “program or activity” that receives federal financial assistance. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000d. The term “program or activity” encompasses “all of the operations … of a college, university, or other postsecondary institution, or a public system of higher education.” See 42 U.S.C. § 2000d4a(2)(A). As noted in Rowles v. Curators of the University of Missouri, 983 F.3d 345, 355 (8th Cir. 2020), “Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race in federally funded programs,” and therefore applies to universities receiving federal financial assistance. Because Jax State receives and administers federal funds through numerous programs and is a public institution, it is subject to Title VI

Finally, the Complaint then requests that OCR take action:

The Office for Civil Rights has the power and obligation to investigate Jax State’s role in creating, funding, promoting and administering these scholarships – and, given how many there are, to discern whether Jax State is engaging in such discrimination in its other activities – and to impose whatever remedial relief is necessary to hold it accountable for that unlawful conduct. This includes, if necessary, imposing fines, initiating administrative proceedings to suspend or terminate federal financial assistance and referring the case to the Department of Justice for judicial proceedings to enforce the rights of the United States under federal law. After all, “[t]he way to stop discrimination … is to stop discriminating[.]” Parents Involved in Cmty. Sch., 551 U.S. at 748.

Accordingly, we respectfully ask that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights promptly open a formal investigation, impose such remedial relief as the law permits for the benefit of those who have been illegally excluded from Jax State’s various scholarships based on discriminatory criteria, and ensure that all ongoing and future scholarships and programming at Jax  comports with the Constitution and federal civil rights laws.

OCR is evaluating EPP’s Complaint for further action.