Case Particulars

Tribunal

Office for Civil Rights, Department of Education

Date Filed

November 7, 2023

Docket No.

N/A

Case Status

OCR Complaint Filed

Case Overview

University of North Dakota School of Law had a racially discriminatory program program that reduced tuition for specific racial and ethnic groups “in order to encourage racial and ethnic diversity within [its] student body.”

In 2021, the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education promulgated a policy that institutions of higher education in the state would be “encouraged” to “provide for … [a] waiver of tuition and fees …. to promote enrollment of a culturally diverse student body.” Based on this authority, the law school created, implemented and promoted a program called the Cultural Diversity Tuition Waiver providing partial waivers of eligible undergraduate students’ tuition. Only students who were “African American/Black,” “Alaska Native,” “Asian/Asian American,” “Hawaiian Native/Other Pacific Islander,” “Hispanic/Latino,” “Native American/American Indian” or “Multiracial/Multiethnic” were eligible for the program.  As such, CDW program was only available to non-white applicants.

Equal Protection Project is the Complainant in this matter, which is under evaluation by the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights.