Department of Education launches civil rights probe into Duke University

The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on Monday opened an investigation into Duke University and its law school over allegations that it made hiring and acceptance decisions on the basis of race and color.

The department argued that the discriminatory hiring and applicant practices, if true, would violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It would also violate the Supreme Court's ruling banning affirmative action, which previously allowed colleges and universities to use race as one of the many factors it considered when accepting or rejecting qualified students.

The investigation into the law school centers on allegations it discriminates on the basis of race, color, and/or national origin by using those factors to select members of its law journal, while the investigation into the university as a whole is centered on allegations that the school uses race preferences in hiring, admissions, and scholarship decisions.

“I am proud to partner with [Health and Human Services] Secretary [Robert F.] Kennedy [Jr] to ensure that Duke commits to excellence, integrity, and lawfulness in their training of our nation’s future leaders," Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. "If Duke illegally gives preferential treatment to law journal or medical school applicants based on those students’ immutable characteristics, that is an affront not only to civil rights law, but to the meritocratic character of academic excellence.

“Blatantly discriminatory practices that are illegal under the Constitution, antidiscrimination law, and Supreme Court precedent have become all too common in our educational institutions," she continued. "The Trump Administration will not allow them to continue.”

The letter to Duke University leadership asks the school to create a "Merit and Civil Rights Committee” that would work with the federal government to investigate the civil rights violation allegations and help resolve the matter more quickly.

The letter also asks the school to review all of its policies and practices at Duke Health involving the alleged illegal use of race preferences and take immediate action to reform the policies.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.