The Department of Justice accused Duke University School of Law on Thursday of illegally using race as a metric in its admissions process, marking the latest Trump administration move to crack down on race-based admissions in higher education.
The DOJ said its Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 compliance review found that the North Carolina university’s law school intentionally discriminated based on race in its admissions of the classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon wrote in the findings letter that the school’s admissions practices led to “highly qualified white, Asian, and other students” being “denied admission on the basis of their race.”
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“Duke Law School doesn’t get a free pass to discriminate against white and Asian students simply because it thinks it has good intentions,” Dhillon said in a statement. “Using ‘diversity’ essay questions to identify preferred races for admission is still illegal discrimination based on race, and this Department is committed to eliminating it everywhere we find it, including in our nation’s law schools.”
The announcement situates Duke Law School as the latest target of the Trump administration’s effort to enforce the Supreme Court’s 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision, in which the court ruled the use of race in admissions considerations illegal, effectively banning affirmative action in higher education.
A Duke University spokesperson told the Washington Examiner in a statement that the institution received the findings letter and is reviewing it.
“We are reviewing the letter and its conclusions carefully. Duke is committed to complying with the law and will continue to do so in a manner that is consistent with our academic mission,” the Duke University spokesperson said.
The DOJ’s findings letter deemed that Duke Law School’s admissions process bolstered the prospects of black and Hispanic applicants, noting a “significant disparity in objective academic metrics between black and Hispanic applicants compared with applicants from other racial categories.”
Dhillon wrote that the department is seeking a “voluntary resolution agreement” with the school to bring it into Title VI compliance.
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The DOJ has unveiled numerous investigations finding higher education institutions out of compliance with the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In June, Dhillon announced the department would be investigating 15 additional medical schools over alleged race-based discrimination.
