Applicants must be low-income, first-generation college students, or a ‘member of a group that is underrepresented in graduate education.’
The Department of Education is accused of discriminating against two white college students who did not meet the racial requirements for one of its top scholarship programs in a new lawsuit filed by a conservative law firm.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) announced on Wednesday that the Department of Education is being sued for its Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, which excludes applicants who are not from “underrepresented segments of society.” A spokesperson for the department told National Review it does not comment on pending litigation.
To qualify for the $60 million doctoral program, an applicant must be a low-income, first-generation college student or a “member of a group that is underrepresented in graduate education.”
At least two-thirds of McNair participants must be low-income, first generation students, and the remaining participants may be from underrepresented groups in graduate education. Twenty-one percent — or roughly 1,200 — McNair participants in 2019-20 were not from underrepresented groups while the rest of the 5,806 total participants that year fell into that category, according to a fast-facts report published by the Department of Education.
In addition to white students, racial and ethnic groups ineligible for the program include Asians, Arabs, Jews, many Latinos, and some Africans.
“Unless they fit into a narrow exception for first-generation low-income students, only those students lucky enough to be on Defendants’ list of favored racial groups get a chance to succeed with this program,” the 23-page lawsuit states.
WILL argues these race-based eligibility criteria violate the Constitution’s equal-protection clause, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in its landmark affirmative-action ruling pertaining to higher-education admissions last June. Now, the Milwaukee-based legal center hopes that ruling can protect aspiring doctoral students from unlawful diversity initiatives.
The federal lawsuit — filed in the District of North Dakota on behalf of conservative nonprofit Young America’s Foundation, chapter affiliate Young Americans for Freedom, and two undergrads — marks the twelfth suit that WILL has brought against the Biden administration. The Department of Education and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona are listed as defendants in the case.
Plaintiffs Avery Durfee and Benjamin Rothove, both of whom are white, were deemed ineligible for the McNair program this summer because of their race. After their respective university officials confirmed that racial exclusion is part of the application process, they chose not to apply.
Durfee is a junior at the University of North Dakota, and Rothove is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Both are YAF members.
“I’ve worked unbelievably hard throughout my undergraduate career and have wanted to go to graduate school my entire life,” Durfee said. “Being told that I didn’t qualify for the McNair program because I’m white seemed completely wrong. This sends the wrong message to young Americans everywhere.”
Despite being a first-generation college student, Durfee did not meet the low-income and underrepresented-minority guidelines. Rothove did not meet any of these guidelines.
“I was excited when I learned about the McNair program because I thought it would be a great way to help me get into graduate school,” Rothove said. “But when I realized that I did not qualify because of my race, it was devastating. This is the 21st century — why are we continuing to separate and divide students?”
WILL alleges the Department of Education and Cardona are in violation of their clients’ equal-protection rights, which forbid discrimination based on race or other factors, and the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies can act. If an agency action is deemed unconstitutional under the statute, a court can invalidate that action and order the agency to correct it.
The lawsuit seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction, as well as a declaratory judgment, prohibiting the Department of Education’s McNair program from engaging in race-based discrimination any further.