Case Particulars

Tribunal

Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights

Date Filed

August 19, 2024

Docket No.

N/A

Case Status

OCR Complaint Filed

Case Overview

On August 19, 2024, 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 Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The Complaint alleges that UIUC, which is a recipient of federal funding, “offers, administers, and promotes 42 scholarships that discriminate based on race, sex, or both.” The Complaint continues: “In violation of Title XI and/or Title VI, each of UIUC’s 42 scholarships below illegally discriminates based on sex, race, or both. Given the vast array of discriminatory scholarships, it is clear that UIUC has a systemic non-compliance with federal civil rights laws. We request that OCR investigate UIUC for the multiple violations of federal civil rights laws (Title IX and Title VI) as set out below, and impose remedial and other relief.”

The Complaint then sets out the legal basis for its assertion that UIUC is violating federal civil rights laws.

First, Title VI:

UIUC violates Title VI by conditioning eligibility for or providing preferential treatment for the scholarships listed below based on a student’s race, color or national origin. Title VI prohibits intentional discrimination based on 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). UIUC receives and administers federal funds through numerous programs. As UIUC is a public institution, it is also subject to Title VI.

Then, Title IX:

Title IX makes it unlawful to discriminate based on sex in education. That statute provides that “[n]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” 20 U.S.C. §1681(a). For this reason, a school receiving federal funding may not administer scholarships, fellowships or other forms of financial assistance that impose a preference or restriction based on sex, with limited exceptions not applicable here. 34 C.F.R. § 106.37(a).

 

Here, the sex-based eligibility criteria for participation in the discriminatory scholarships listed below are, by their terms, plain: If applicants do not meet the blunt sex requirements described in their respective eligibility criteria, they are not eligible for these scholarships. UIUC’s sex discrimination concerning these programs is unlawful.

The Complaint then sets out, using UIUC’s own website, the details of each of the allegedly discriminatory scholarships.

The Complaint summarizes and requests OCR take action:

“The way to stop discrimination,” the Supreme Court has taught, “is to stop discriminating.” Parents Involved in Cmty. Sch., 551 U.S. at 748. The Office for Civil Rights has the power and obligation to investigate UIUC’s role in creating, supporting and promoting the discriminatory scholarships above and to impose whatever remedial relief is necessary to hold it accountable for that 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.

 

As set forth above, the number and scope of discriminatory scholarships is extensive, reflecting a systemic disregard for the civil rights laws. In light of this systemic problem, we ask that OCR promptly open a formal investigation not only as to these scholarships, but also as the UIUC system.

 

We further request that OCR impose such remedial relief as the law permits for the benefit of anyone who may have been illegally excluded from UIUC’s scholarship offerings based on discriminatory criteria, and ensure that all ongoing and future programming through UIUC comports with the Constitution and federal civil rights laws.

OCR is evaluating EPP’s Civil Rights Complaint.