Case Particulars

Tribunal

Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights

Date Filed

September 9, 2026

Docket No.

N/A

Case Status

OCR Complaint Filed

Case Overview

On September 9, 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 Cornell College (“Cornell”) regarding its discriminatory Each One Teach One Program (“EOTOP”) which discriminates based on race in violation of Title VI.

EPP’s Complaint states:

We bring this civil rights complaint against Cornell College (“Cornell”), a private institution, regarding the Each One Teach One Program (“EOTOP” or “the program”) which racially discriminates in violation of Title VI.

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

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

The EOTOP violates Title VI by discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The EOTOP Program limits eligibility to students from “students of color” As noted above, Cornell states that the program is available to students who have been identified as students of color, including but not limited to African American, Latinx, and American Indian. This language limits eligibility to the program for students from racial and ethnic categories, such that students who do not fall within them—particularly non-minority students are excluded from eligibility.

 

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act 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” means “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); Rowles v. Curators of the Univ. of Mo., 983 F.3d 345, 355 (8th Cir. 2020) (“Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race in federally funded programs,” and thus applies to universities receiving federal financial assistance). As Cornell receives federal funds, it is subject to Title VI.

 

In Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023), the Supreme Court declared that “[e]liminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it …. The guarantee of equal protection cannot mean one thing when applied to one individual and something else when applied to a person of another color. If both are not accorded the same protection, then it is not equal.” Id. at 206 (cleaned up). “Distinctions between citizens solely because of their ancestry [including race] are by their very nature odious to a free people whose institutions are founded upon the doctrine of equality.” Id. at 208.

 

Finally, the Complaint then requests that OCR take action:

The Office for Civil Rights has the power and obligation to investigate Cornell’s role in creating, funding, promoting and administering this program and to discern whether Cornell is engaging in such discrimination 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, impose such remedial relief as the law permits for the benefit of those who have been illegally excluded from programming at Cornell based on discriminatory criteria, and ensure that all ongoing and future programs at Cornell comports with the federal civil rights laws.

 

OCR is evaluating EPP’s Complaint for further action.