Case Particulars

Tribunal

Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights

Date Filed

February 10, 2026

Docket No.

Pending

Case Status

OCR Complaint Filed

Case Overview

On February 10, 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 the University of California, Berkeley.

The allegations in the Complaint concern five racially discriminatory programs that violate federal law. These include the African American Student Development Office, Black Resource Center, Latinx Student Resource Center, African American Initiative Scholarship, and The Lloyd A. Edwards Scholarship.

For example, the Black Resource Center “is a space for Black students to safely gather on campus and benefit from dedicated academic, social, and cultural services” and “is dedicated to enhancing the Black student experience in all aspects at Berkeley and enriching Black student life.” The Chicanx Resource Center “is a campus space dedicated to the academic, social, emotional, cultural, and professional development of Chicanx/Latinx students at UC Berkeley.” And the Lloyd A. Edwards Scholarship provides an award of $5,000 annually for up to four years to support Black or Native American undergraduate students at UC Berkeley.”

By being open only to certain students based on their race, either explicitly (through the program title) or through strong racial signaling (such as the program description), these five programs discriminates against all students not fitting the selected racial category.

Title VI prohibits intentional discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any “program or activity” that receives federal financial assistance. It does not matter if the recipient of federal funding discriminates in order to advance a benign “intention” or “motivation.” The primary question is whether an ordinary reader would be discouraged from participating.

Additionally, these programs violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. Under strict scrutiny, racial classifications “are constitutional only if they are narrowly tailored measures that further compelling governmental interests.” Here, Berkeley cannot meet this burden.

By discriminating on the basis of race, Berkeley’s African American Student Development Office, Black Resource Center, Latinx Student Resource Center, African American Initiative Scholarship, and Lloyd A. Edwards Scholarship, violate Title VI and the Fourteenth Amendment.

OCR is evaluating EPP’s Complaint for further action.