The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division announces investigations into 15 additional medical schools, citing allegations of racial discrimination in admissions. The announcement follows the DOJ’s more recent findings involving race-conscious admissions practices at specific institutions, which the DOJ says violated federal civil-rights law.
According to reporting across outlets, the newly targeted schools are examined for whether their admissions processes unlawfully consider race or otherwise discriminate on a racial basis. The investigations build on DOJ actions already taken against similar programs, including prior scrutiny of medical schools associated with Ohio State University and Stanford University. The Guardian also links the expansion to the DOJ’s earlier determinations concerning the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Yale University.
All sources describe the DOJ’s step as civil-rights enforcement tied to potential noncompliance with federal requirements, and they note that the schools being investigated receive significant amounts of federal funding. The investigations are ongoing and focus on admissions policies and practices rather than on a final adjudication of wrongdoing.
