The Department of Justice announced on Thursday that it will be conducting compliance review investigations to determine if several California universities are adhering to the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision banning the consideration of race in admissions. Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed that Stanford University, as well as three schools in the University of California system – Berkeley, Los Angeles, and Irvine – will be targeted in these investigations.
In a statement, Ms. Bondi emphasized that President Trump and herself are committed to ending illegal discrimination and promoting merit-based opportunities nationwide. It remains unclear if similar compliance reviews will be initiated at other colleges and universities across the country.
The Supreme Court decision was based on lawsuits filed against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill by Students for Fair Admissions. Plaintiffs in the case presented statistical evidence, including standardized test scores, to argue that certain racial groups, such as Black and Hispanic students, were being given preferential treatment in admissions, which they believed violated the 14th Amendment.
Unlike most states, California public colleges and universities have been prohibited from using affirmative action in admissions since the adoption of Proposition 209 in 1996. This led to a significant decline in the enrollment of Black, Hispanic, and other minority students at California’s more selective public schools. However, there has been some increase in minority enrollment since then. For instance, Black enrollment at U.C.L.A. dropped to 3.43 percent in 1998 from 7 percent prior to Proposition 209, but had risen to 5.98 percent by 2019.
As a private institution, Stanford was not subject to Proposition 209 requirements. The university stated that it has taken measures to comply with the Supreme Court decision and is committed to upholding the law, although it has not received specific details about the investigation from the Justice Department.
The University of California system has not yet commented on the Justice Department’s announcement. This investigation follows a lawsuit filed in February by Students Against Racial Discrimination, accusing the University of California system of violating protections against racial discrimination in admissions. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit demanded that the system select students in a colorblind manner and eliminate what they perceive as corrupt and unlawful race and sex preferences that prioritize diversity over academic merit.
In a separate development on Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services revealed that it is launching an investigation into allegations of discriminatory admissions practices at a major medical school in California, although the specific school was not disclosed.
