The Department of Education (DoED) issued, what is known as a “Dear Colleague” a letter on Feb. 14 threatening to cut federal funding for institutions which use “race in decisions”, sparking concerns for diversity programs at Hamline.
It alleges that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices have smuggled “racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.” It offers an interpretation of existing federal anti-discrimination laws which ban the consideration of race in any hiring, admissions, aid and “all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.”
The DE gave institutions 14 days to comply with these guidelines, stating that noncompliance would warrant investigation and could risk loss of federal funding. However, the DE also mentions in the footnotes that the letter “does not have the force and effect of law and does not bind the public or create new legal standards.”
Federal funding supports many different facets of institutions, the largest of which is student aid.
According to niche.com, 45% of Hamline students receive a Pell Grant with an average payout of $5,096.
Kate Bjork, a history professor and president of Hamline’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), expressed worry about the range of activities that may be deemed illegal.
“My concern is that the letter is so broad and undisciplined since it never gives us a definition that it is open to being used mischievously,” Bjork said.
On March 1, the DE issued a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) letter clarifying some of the terms put forth in the initial letter. This covered some of the scope of their interpretation of Title VI, including that race-based scholarships and housing would be considered illegal, but cultural events would not, as long as they are not exclusionary or create “hostile environments” for other students.
The FAQs also elaborate on where DEI initiatives fall under these guidelines, stating “many schools have advanced discriminatory policies and practices under the banner of “DEI” initiatives. Other schools have sought to veil discriminatory policies with terms like “social-emotional learning” or “culturally responsive” teaching.”
Bjork said that accusations such as these seemed to her unsubstantiated, and did not line up with her understanding of the purpose of DEI programs.
“I was struck by several assertions in the letter that seem to be saying things that don’t accord with my experience as a professor in a university in the United States,” Bjork said.
Hamline’s response to the letters remains to be seen, and staff did not respond on the matter in time for print. However, Hamline could have programs at risk with the examples of race-based scholarships and housing falling under “discriminatory practices,”.
Many associations and institutions have responded to the letters with concern. The AAUP’s Feb. 18 statement describes them as the “latest blatant attempt by the Trump administration to punish educators, target communities of color, and undermine decades of hard-won progress toward a multiracial democracy.”
“It does feel like an effort to intimidate colleges into taking actions voluntarily that might not stand up to legal scrutiny if it really came right down to it,” Alison Byerly, president of Carleton College, told MPR News.
The American Council on Education, along with over 60 higher education organizations and institutions, wrote a letter in response urging the DE to rescind the Dear Colleague letter.
