Case Particulars

Tribunal

Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights

Date Filed

May 13, 2026

Docket No.

01-26-2203

Case Status

OCR Complaint Filed

Case Overview

On May 13, 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 University of Massachusetts Amherst (“UMass Amherst”) regarding its College of Social & Behavioral Sciences Remedying Inequity Through Student Engagement (“SBS RISE”) program, which discriminates on the basis of race, color, and/or national origin in violation of Title VI.

EPP’s Complaint states:

We bring this civil rights complaint against University of Massachusetts Amherst (“UMass Amherst”), a public institution, regarding its College of Social & Behavioral Sciences Remedying Inequity Through Student Engagement (“SBS RISE”) program which racially discriminates in violation of Title VI.

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

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

The SBS RISE program identified above violates Title VI by discriminating on the basis of race, skin color, or national origin. Furthermore, because UMass Amherst is a public university, such discrimination also violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

 

The program expressly treats students differently based on protected characteristics. The program limits participation to students who identify as first-generation, students of color, and/or from low-income backgrounds, while its promotional materials repeatedly describe the program as intended for “BIPOC” students. As noted above, the official SBS RISE Instagram page states that “SBS RISE provides opportunities to SBS 1st generation, BIPOC, and/or low-income undergrads at UMass Amherst.”

This language reflects that the program is intended for certain racial and ethnic groups, such that non-BIPOC students who do not satisfy the additional listed criteria are either excluded from participation or would be deterred from applying.

 

Finally, the Complaint then requests that OCR take action:

The Office for Civil Rights has the power and obligation to investigate UMass Amherst’s role in creating, funding, promoting and administering this program and to discern whether UMass Amherst is engaging in such discrimination in its other activities – 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. After all, “[t]he way to stop discrimination … is to stop discriminating[.]” Parents Involved in Cmty. Sch., 551 U.S. at 748.

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 UMass Amherst’s programs based on discriminatory criteria, and ensure that all ongoing and future programs and programming at UMass Amherst comply with the Constitution and federal civil rights laws.

 

OCR is evaluating EPP’s Complaint for further action.