Case Particulars

Tribunal

Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights

Date Filed

November 27, 2023

Docket No.

N/A

Case Status

OCR Complaint Filed

Case Overview

On November 27, 2023, 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 Colorado – Boulder (“UC Boulder”). The Complaint alleges that UC Boulder, a public institution that is a recipient of federal funding, “support[s] and promot[es] a program that engages in invidious discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin.”

The Complaint explains that CU Boulder makes use of funding through the federal “Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program” and uses this funding “to increase the attainment of Ph.D. degrees by students from underrepresented segments of society.” “Underrepresented” in this context is defined by federal statute and regulation and includes “Black (non-Hispanic), Hispanic, American Indian, Alaskan Native … Native Hawaiians … and Native American Pacific Islanders.”

The Complaint then asserts the following:

CU Boulder’s voluntary and ongoing participation in and active promotion of the McNair Scholarship program, which awards funding, research and scholarship opportunities to students based on their race and skin color, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as well as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”) and its implementing regulations. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.; 28 C.F.R. Part 100; see also Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244, 276 n.23 (2003) (“We have explained that discrimination that violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment committed by an institution that accepts federal funds also constitutes a violation of Title VI.”).

The Complaint summarizes:

OCR should investigate CU Boulder’s voluntary participation in the blatantly discriminatory McNair Scholarship program and the circumstances under which it was promoted and approved, take all appropriate action to end such discriminatory practices and impose remedial relief. This includes, if necessary, imposing fines, initiating administrative proceedings to suspend, terminate, or refuse to grant or continue federal financial assistance, and referring the case to the Department of Justice for judicial proceedings to enforce the rights of the United States.

OCR is evaluating EPP’s Civil Rights Complaint for further action.