The U.S. Department of Educationon Wednesday announceda probe into Stanford University over whether the private California institution is violating civil rights lawthrough a program meant to help K-12 teachers obtain certification.
The federal investigation centers on the Black, Indigenous and People of Color Cohort, a program launched in 2022 by Stanford’s National Board Resource Center and the California Teachers Association. At the time, the CTA said the cohort aimed to increase the diversity of teachers withNational Board Certification byproviding them with support services and funding to cover certification costs.
As of February, eligibility criteria on Stanford’s website said applicants must identify as a person of color, along with other requirements.That webpage is no longer publicly available, however.
Additionally, Stanford is no longer accepting new teachers for the cohort and is sunsetting the program, a university spokesperson said via email Wednesday.
googletag.display(‘dfp-hybrid1-mobile’)); googletag.pubads().addEventListener(‘slotRenderEnded’, function (event) { var adUnitPath = ‘/3618/highereddive/highereddivehybrid1’; var onProformative = false; if (onProformative && event.slot.getAdUnitPath() === adUnitPath && !event.isEmpty ) { var adUnitPathWithVisibility = adUnitPath + ‘-mobile’; var selector = ‘.pf-comments__ad-wrapper #dfp-hybrid1-mobile’; if (!$(selector).closest(‘.pf-comments__ad-wrapper’).hasClass(‘borders’)) { $(selector).closest(‘.pf-comments__ad-wrapper’).addClass(‘borders’) } } }); } }); }); ]]>
googletag.display(‘dfp-hybrid2-desktop’)); googletag.pubads().addEventListener(‘slotRenderEnded’, function (event) { var adUnitPath = ‘/3618/highereddive/highereddivehybrid2’; var onProformative = false; if (onProformative && event.slot.getAdUnitPath() === adUnitPath && !event.isEmpty ) { var adUnitPathWithVisibility = adUnitPath + ‘-desktop’; var selector = ‘.pf-comments__ad-wrapper #dfp-hybrid2-desktop’; if (!$(selector).closest(‘.pf-comments__ad-wrapper’).hasClass(‘borders’)) { $(selector).closest(‘.pf-comments__ad-wrapper’).addClass(‘borders’) } } }); } }); }); ]]>
“Stanford University is committed to meeting its obligations under the federal Civil Rights Act and maintaining an environment free of prohibited discrimination,” the spokesperson said. Stanford also made those comments to the San Francisco Chronicle in March, when the civil rights complaint was filed.
The program has been funded through grants from the CTA and the National Education Association.The Stanford spokesperson added the BIPOC Cohort “has been one program within a larger effort of the National Board Resource Center.”
The Center is open to all K-12 teachers pursuing National Board Certification, regardless of their race, and provides them withmentorship, seminars, research and other resources, the spokesperson said.
The Education Department is investigating whether the BIPOC Cohort violates Title VI, which bars discrimination based on race, color or national origin in federally funded education programs.
The probe comes after Defending Education, a conservative advocacy group, filed a civil rights complaint in March against Stanford over the BIPOC Cohort. The group is known for filing civil rights complaints and initiating lawsuits against educational institutions over their diversity initiatives.
“If the allegations are true, Stanford is engaged in discrimination — pure and simple,” Kimberly Richey, the Education Department’s assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a Wednesday statement. “The Trump Administration will always fight against discrimination to protect Americans’ rights under the law. All students, regardless of their skin color, should have an equal opportunity to succeed.”
This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has opened a civil rights investigation into Stanford.
googletag.display(‘dfp-hybrid2-mobile’)); googletag.pubads().addEventListener(‘slotRenderEnded’, function (event) { var adUnitPath = ‘/3618/highereddive/highereddivehybrid2’; var onProformative = false; if (onProformative && event.slot.getAdUnitPath() === adUnitPath && !event.isEmpty ) { var adUnitPathWithVisibility = adUnitPath + ‘-mobile’; var selector = ‘.pf-comments__ad-wrapper #dfp-hybrid2-mobile’; if (!$(selector).closest(‘.pf-comments__ad-wrapper’).hasClass(‘borders’)) { $(selector).closest(‘.pf-comments__ad-wrapper’).addClass(‘borders’) } } }); } }); }); ]]>
In late March, the U.S. Department of Justice told Stanford that it was investigating the university’s medical school admissions for potential racial discrimination, The New York Times reported. The agency opened similar probes into Ohio State University and the University of California, San Diego at that time.