The groups say Thursday’s rescission of the tool has “no basis in law or morality” and constitutes “further evidence that this administration is determined to undermine our laws, abandon civil rights enforcement, and deny the existence of systemic discrimination.”
“The rescission will hurt Black, Latino, Asian American, and Native American students, other students of color, and other marginalized students who face higher rates of discrimination,” the organizations said in a joint statement issued by the Legal Defense Fund.
The groups were referring to the Trump Administration’s move Thursday to end several disparate-impact provisions from the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or Title VI.
They say the disparate impact tool allowed the Office of Civil Rights to investigate school discipline or school closure policies that “appear neutral but unfairly and disproportionately harm or disadvantage” students of color. They say its removal will “clear the way for discrimination that too often deprives students of equal educational opportunity based on race, color, and national origin.”
Under the disparate impact provisions, demographic data alone could be used to establish that a school violated federal civil rights laws, “even if there is no facially discriminatory policy, practice, or discriminatory intent involved,” the Education Department said in a statement.
“This has effectively required educational institutions to consider race and engage in racial balancing in order to comply with federal civil rights law,” the department stated. “Removing disparate impact aligns the Department’s regulations with Title VI’s statutory provisions and advances President Trump’s promise to restore equality of opportunity and meritocracy.”
The department accused the Obama administration of having “weaponized” the decades-old disparate impact tool on behalf of “the radical left.” The department further lamented that the use of the tool was “forcing schools to make race a factor when considering disciplinary actions.”
“Indeed, under Democrat Administrations, OCR found schools guilty of violating Title VI for even-handedly applying race-neutral policies – with no discriminatory intent – solely because data indicated the school disciplined more minority students,” the department stated. “Today’s regulatory changes put a stop to such distortion of educational opportunities, ensuring that federal law is upheld while teachers retain control over their classrooms across America.”
The civil rights groups who condemned the move disputed that characterization.
“While undermining civil rights protections is never justified, the Department’s move to overhaul these anti-discrimination regulations without even providing the public with an opportunity to comment is indefensible,” the groups stated.
Jamaal Abdul-Alim is a longtime education writer who resides in Washington, D.C. He occasionally teaches journalism and has completed fellowships at the University of Michigan, Columbia University and New America.
