Case Particulars

Tribunal

Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division

Date Filed

November 12, 2026

Docket No.

N/A

Case Status

Complaint Filed

Case Overview

On November 12, 2026, the Equal Protection Project (EPP) filed a Civil Rights Complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division against The Institute for Recruitment of Teachers (IRT) Consortium Members alleging that their participation in the IRT program constitutes discrimination on the basis of race, color, and/or national origin in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

These members are as follows:

1. Boston University
2. Boston College
3. Brandeis University
4. Brown University
5. Columbia University
6. Cornell University
7. Duke University
8. Emory University
9. Harvard University
10. New York University
11. Purdue University
12. Princeton University
13. Rice University
14. Rutgers University
15. Stanford University
16. University of Arizona
17. University of California, Berkeley
18. University of California, Davis
19. University of California, San Diego
20. University of Connecticut
21. University of Kentucky
22. University of Maine
23. University of Maryland, College Park
24. University of New Hampshire
25. University of Notre Dame
26. University of Pennsylvania
27. University of Rochester
28. University of Vermont
29. Washington State University
30. Yale University

EPP’s Complaint states:

We make this civil rights complaint and request for investigation regarding the thirty (30) higher education institutions (“Consortium Members/Partners”) comprising the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers (IRT) Consortium (the “IRT Consortium”). The IRT Consortium is an educational program affiliated with Phillips Academy Andover, a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt educational organization. The IRT Consortium provides admission and funding of IRT participants in master’s and doctoral programs in education, the humanities, social sciences, arts, computer science, and mathematics, on the basis of race, color and/or national origin.

 

As set forth below, Consortium Membership allows these universities and colleges to recruit and enroll graduate students from a racially discriminatory pre-screened pool of IRT applicants. By doing so, IRT Consortium membership appears to provide a workaround for Consortium Members to recruit students on a discriminatory basis that if done directly clearly would violate the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling on the use of race in admissions. Since all the Consortium Members receive federal funding or are public universities, this racial workaround appears to violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and/or the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

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

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

The universities participating in the IRT Consortium are subject to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because they receive federal funding. The public universities are also subject to the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The practices described above— namely, the recruitment and selection of participants through an expressly race-conscious educational initiative, followed by the provision of graduate admissions assistance, institutional recruitment opportunities, application fee waivers, fellowships, and other financial benefits through participating universities—raise serious questions concerning whether the Consortium Members are engaging in unlawful discrimination based on race, color, or national origin that, if done directly and not through IRT, clearly would violate the Supreme Court’s ruling as to the use of race in admissions and education.

 

Title VI prohibits intentional discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any “program or activity” receiving federal financial assistance. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000d. The term “program or activity” encompasses “all of the operations” of a college, university, other post-secondary institution, or public system of higher education receiving federal assistance. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000d-4a(2)(A). Accordingly, federally funded consortium universities must comply with Title VI in their graduate admissions, recruitment, scholarship, fellowship, and financial assistance programs. See also Rowles v. Curators of the University of Missouri, 983 F.3d 345, 355 (8th Cir. 2020) (recognizing Title VI’s prohibition against racial discrimination in federally funded university programs).

 

Finally, the Complaint then requests that OCR take action:

The Department of Justice has authority to investigate and enforce compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and, where applicable, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. We therefore respectfully request that the Civil Rights Division open a formal investigation into the IRT Consortium and the thirty (30) participating universities identified in this complaint and its accompanying exhibits. Specifically, we request that the Department examine the consortium’s institutional agreements, recruitment arrangements, participant selection criteria, graduate admissions procedures, application fee waivers, fellowship and scholarship eligibility requirements, and any policies or communications concerning preferential treatment of IRT participants.

 

The Department should further determine whether any participating university intentionally uses IRT participation as a proxy for race, relies on discriminatory third-party selection criteria, or otherwise provides admissions or financial benefits in violation of federal civil rights law. Where violations are established, we respectfully request that the Department take appropriate enforcement action, require corrective measures, and ensure that all participating institutions receiving federal financial assistance administer their admissions, recruitment, and financial aid programs in compliance with Title VI and, for public institutions, the Equal Protection Clause.

 

DOJ is evaluating EPP’s Complaint for further action.