Case Particulars

Tribunal

Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights

Date Filed

Docket No.

Case Status

Case Overview

On October 21, 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 Bates College (“Bates”) regarding its discriminatory STEM Scholars program which likely violates Title VI.

EPP’s Complaint states:

We bring this civil rights complaint and request for investigation regarding Bates College’s (“Bates”) STEM Scholars Program (“STEM Scholars” or “the program”) which appears to racially discriminate in violation of Title VI warranting OCR investigation. The Bates STEM Scholars Program at issue in this complaint is part of a larger racial balancing effort at Bates under the banner of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Yet as demonstrated below, such DEI efforts embodied in the STEM Scholars Program can cross the line into possible civil rights violations through race-focused promotion and signaling.

The Complaint uses Bate’s own websites to demonstrate the discriminatory nature of this program.

Next, the Complaint further explains why the program likely violates federal law:

Bates’ STEM Scholars Program appears to violate Title VI by discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The program states that it is intended to serve “historically underserved students,” which include African American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Alaskan, Native American, Native Pacific Islander, those who are first generation college or from an under resourced Maine high school. These eligibility requirements automatically confer preference for students from the identified races, while those students who do not belong to the identified racial or ethnic groups have to show they are first-generation to college or graduated from an under resourced high school. Such differential treatment based on race and ethnicity is impermissible discrimination.

 

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. § 2000d 4a(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 Bates receives and administers federal funds through numerous programs, it is subject to Title VI.

 

Regardless of Bates’ reasons for offering, promoting, and administering such discriminatory scholarships, it appears to violate Title VI by doing so. It does not matter if the recipient of federal funding discriminates in order to advance a benign “intention” or “motivation.” Bostock v. Clayton Cnty., 590 U.S. 644, 661 (2020) (“Intentionally burning down a neighbor’s house is arson, even if the perpetrator’s ultimate intention (or motivation) is only to improve the view.”); accord Automobile Workers v. Johnson Controls, Inc., 499 U.S. 187, 199 (1991) (“the absence of a malevolent motive does not convert a facially discriminatory policy into a neutral policy with a discriminatory effect” or “alter [its] intentionally discriminatory character”). “Nor does it matter if the recipient discriminates against an individual member of a protected class with the idea that doing so might favor the interests of that class as a whole or otherwise promote equality at the group level.” Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll., 600 U.S. 181, 289 (2023) (Gorsuch, J., concurring).

 

Finally, the Complaint then requests that OCR take action:

The Office for Civil Rights has the power and obligation to investigate Bates’ role in creating, funding, promoting and administering this program and to discern whether Bates is engaging in discrimination in the STEM Scholars Program or in its other activities – as well as the duty to impose whatever remedial relief is necessary to hold it accountable for this 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. v. Seattle Sch. Dist. No. 1, 551 U.S. 701, 748 (2007).

Accordingly, we respectfully ask that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights promptly open a formal investigation to determine if the STEM Scholars Program violates Title VI. Should OCR determine that there is such a violation it should impose such remedial relief as the law permits for the benefit of those who have been illegally excluded from programming at Bates based on discriminatory criteria and ensure that all ongoing and future programs at Bates comport with the federal civil rights laws.

 

OCR is evaluating EPP’s Complaint for further action.