Trump administration orders return to 'race-neutral' school admissions


The Trump administration is reversing the Obama-era directive promoting diverse classrooms by reinstating a policy that "strongly encourages the use of race-neutral methods" for admitting students to university programs or placement in elementary and secondary schools, The New York Times reports.
"The executive branch cannot circumvent Congress or the courts by creating guidance that goes beyond the law and — in some instances — stays on the books for decades," argued Justice Department spokesperson Devin O'Malley in a statement to CNN.
The policy shift, while not a formal law, means that schools that continue race-conscious admission policies could face an "investigation or lawsuit, or lose federal funding from the Education Department," The New York Times reports. The Trump administration says the shift is to follow the law more closely, although former Justice Department civil rights lawyer Samuel Bagenstos called it "part of a broader conservative effort to undermine affirmative action."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is retiring at the end of the month, was the swing vote on affirmative action in 2016's Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, which decided that schools could consider race as one factor in their decision-making process. A new case expected to go to the Supreme Court, in which Asian-American students say they were refused admission to Harvard to give their spots to students of other races, would be decided theoretically by President Trump's replacement for Kennedy.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
How would the Trump administration denaturalize immigrant citizens?
Today's Big Question Using civil courts lowers the burden of proof
-
Who has to pay the estate tax?
the explainer Trump's new bill will permanently shift who owes federal estate tax
-
'Trucking is a dangerous business'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump