The Trump administration investigated the admission policy at Stanford University and three campuses within the University of California, including UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Irvine, the Justice Department said on Thursday.
The US Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered the department’s civil rights division to investigate whether the schools’ policy complies with the US Supreme Court ruling in 2023 which ended the affirmative action in admission to the University, the department said in a statement.
Since he was appointed in January, President Donald Trump has been trying to make out programs for diversity, fairness and inclusion that, according to his administration, say, white and Asian American students. The administration warned schools and colleges that they could lose federal money over “race -based preferences” in admissions, rent, bursaries and all aspects of campus life.
The latest action comes after the US Department of Education said it had investigated 52 universities for alleged racial discrimination earlier this month. Most of these schools said the investigations were due to a partnership with a non -profit organization aimed at helping students of color to get doctoral degrees.
“President Trump and I are committed to ending illegal discrimination and to restore merit-based opportunity across the country,” Bondi said in the statement. “Every student in America deserves to be judged only based on their hard work, intellect and character, not the color of their skin.”
Stanford said in a statement on Thursday that after the Supreme Court’s ruling, it immediately took steps to ensure that the admission process complies with the law.
“We are still committed to fulfilling our obligations under the Act,” the statement states, adding that the school was not specifically told why it is being investigated. “We don’t have details about today’s announcement, but we look forward to knowing more about their concerns and responding to the department’s questions.”
The University of California did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US Department of Health and Human Services have said separately that they are investigating “an important medical school in California” for alleged racial discrimination in admissions. The statement did not mention the school. It is said that the action in response to information received by the Office for Civil Rights. It did not give details.
The Trump administration also launched an investigation into the California Department of Education on Thursday. The case is a law that says districts cannot force teachers and staff to inform parents if a student changes their gender identity at school.
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