Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Dear Colleague Letter 2025-02-14 (US Civil Rights)

When considering a student's eligibility and need for Gifted Education, has the use of quotas come to an end?

https://www.ed.gov/media/document/dear-colleague-letter-sffa-v-harvard-109506.pdf

Brief Excerpt of the 4-page letter:
"This letter explains and reiterates existing legal requirements under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution, and other relevant authorities."
...
"Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon “systemic and structural racism” and advanced discriminatory policies and practices. Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them—particularly during the last four years—under the banner of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (“DEI”), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.

But under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal.

The Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), which clarified that the use of racial preferences in college admissions is unlawful, sets forth a framework for evaluating the use of race by state actors and entities covered by Title VI. The Court explained that “[c]lassifying and assigning students based on their race” is lawful only if it satisfies “strict scrutiny,” which means that any use of race must be narrowly tailored—that is, “necessary”—to achieve a compelling interest. To date, the Supreme Court has recognized only two interests as compelling in the context of race-based action: (1) “remediating specific, identified instances of past discrimination that violated the Constitution or a statute”; and (2) “avoiding imminent and serious risks to human safety in prisons, such as a race riot.” Nebulous concepts like racial balancing and diversity are not compelling interests. As the Court explained in SFFA, “an individual’s race may never be used against him” and “may not operate as a stereotype” in governmental decision-making"

The following press release from the U.S. Department of Education appears to complement, affirm, and reinforce the direction indicated in the "Dear Colleague" letter of February 14, 2025:
https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press...million-divisive-teacher-training-grants

There is a broad trend in US colleges to admit based on diversity rather than merit, and a tacit agreement to cover it up. Since I first joined this forum over 10 years ago, I have seen our gifted community on a collision course with the woke. Fortunately, the following organizations are addressing the matter in federal court.

https://studentsforfairadmissions.org/
https://sword.education/
https://sard.law/

An update on the latter two is here https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...es-Google-job-racial-discrimination.html

And here’s an update on SFFA:

STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS https://studentsforfairadmissions.org/

LITIGATION UPDATE

MARCH 4, 2025

1. SFFA v. Air Force Academy (D. Co. Dec. 10, 2024)

· Summary: SFFA sued the Air Force Academy over its race-based admissions process.

· Update: On January 2, 2025, Judge Nina Wang was assigned to our case. Defendants have to respond by March 17. Our proposed scheduling order is due April 7.

2. SFFA v. Naval Academy (D. Md. Oct. 5, 2023)

· Summary: SFFA sued the Naval Academy, claiming its scheme of race-based admissions was unconstitutional after SFFA v. Harvard.

· Update: The Court granted our motion to file a longer brief, so we’ll get 15,000 words—or roughly 60 double-spaced pages—in our opening brief. The government has signaled that it will soon change positions. Our opening brief is now due on April 7.

3. SFFA v. West Point (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 19, 2023)

· Summary: SFFA sued West Point over its race-based admissions process.

· Update: Discovery is ongoing. Defendants tried to stay the case for 90 days, but the Court rejected their request and gave SFFA more time to conduct discovery.

4. SFFA v. University of Texas-Austin (W.D. Tex. July 20, 2020)

· Summary: In 2020, SFFA sued the University of Texas at Austin over its use of race in admissions. Though UT agreed not to consider race after Harvard, it refused to do what most other schools (including Harvard and UNC) have done: blind its admissions officers to racial data when they are evaluating prospective students.

· Update: UT and intervenors filed their appellate briefs on January 15. We filed our reply on February 5. The Fifth Circuit “tentatively” set oral argument for the week of April 28th.