The Justice Department issued findings Thursday that Duke University’s law school violated federal law by considering race in its admissions process, marking the latest action by the Trump administration against higher education institutions on this issue.
In a letter to the school, the department contended that Duke Law employed race-conscious practices despite publicly adopting a race-neutral stance. According to the DOJ, the school used alternative criteria including personal essays and first-generation student status as proxies for racial considerations. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon stated that the school could not “discriminate against white and Asian students” through diversity-focused application questions, characterizing such practices as illegal racial discrimination.
The action follows a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that prohibited affirmative action in college admissions. While the ruling permitted schools to assess how applicants’ backgrounds might relate to broader personal characteristics, President Donald Trump has argued that colleges are circumventing this decision by employing substitute factors to maintain racial diversity. The Trump administration views such practices as unlawful discrimination.
The department’s investigation found that Black and Hispanic applicants faced significantly different admission outcomes compared to white and Asian applicants with equivalent academic credentials. The DOJ noted that in 2024 and 2025, median Law School Admissions Test scores of rejected white and Asian applicants exceeded median scores of admitted Black applicants. Duke Law stated it was reviewing the letter and expressed commitment to complying with applicable law while maintaining its academic mission.
This case is part of a broader enforcement effort by the Trump administration. The department has already issued similar findings against medical schools at Yale University and UCLA. In June, the administration announced investigations into 15 additional medical schools, and it previously required selective undergraduate institutions to provide compliance data following the 2023 Supreme Court decision. The DOJ indicated it is seeking a settlement agreement with Duke Law School.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI