On Tuesday, July 3, President Trump rescinded seven guidance provisions from the U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Division to discourage schools from achieving racial and ethnic diversity, including the Obama-era policies designed after successive Supreme Court decisions supporting the use of race among a number of other criteria to achieve excellence and diversity in education.
The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) and its 105 historically Black college and university (HBCUs) members – and approximately 80-member predominantly Black institutions (PBIs) – find deeply disturbing President Trump’s rolling back the progress this nation has painstakingly made in recognizing the educational value of diversity. Attaining the benefits of diversity in higher education is a compelling state interest that can justify the use of race-conscious admissions policies, and which time and data have proven most often must include the use of race among other criteria.
Democrats and Republicans, the nation’s Fortune 100 and 500 companies, the National Association of Manufacturers, the United States Armed Forces and a broad and diverse group of others moved the nation to recognize the importance of diversity in higher education after acknowledging that because race still matters in America, race should be considered along with other factors in educating students who will lead the nation in overcoming racism in America.
The Supreme Court, researchers, civil rights, social justice, educational and religious leaders and associations, American business associations, including the Business Roundtable, municipalities, the overwhelming majority of public and private American universities, and other institutions and associations have found that “through institutional diversity students are benefitting from the intellectual, cultural, civic, religious and personal experiences of a range of students, reflecting the richness of this heterogeneous, pluralistic society.”
It has been repeatedly affirmed for the past four decades that students in a diverse educational setting can learn the tolerance, coexistence and ecumenical spirit of shared values and common destinies that make America strong. Our nation arrived at the recognition of the value of diversity in higher education after some of the nation’s leading higher education researchers, the premiere architects of the standardized college admissions tests and a conservative Supreme Court found that the admissions criteria that have been used though the years – primarily consideration of test scores, grades, the financial contributions of an applicant’s family to the higher education institution and whether an applicant’s parents successfully matriculated through the same institution – have acted as barriers to the vast majority of those who are well prepared and desirous of attaining a higher education.
The Supreme Court’s opinions suggest that in an era when the value of an educated citizenry has never been greater, institutional diversity, as much as academic research and social service, must characterize great education institutions. A school’s responsiveness to diversity closely correlates with its standards of academic excellence and equity.
The court found that diverse student bodies on campuses lead to better learning outcomes and greater preparation for work, citizenship and civic engagement. The Supreme Court ruled in three successive cases that higher education institutions should consider a broader range of factors in determining student qualifications for matriculation in higher education institutions, including the mission of the college or university, standardized tests and a broad range of student success factors, including unique life’s experiences, special gifts and talents, e.g., oratorical, artistic, musical, dramatic, scientific, technological and athletic abilities; work experiences, foreign languages, culture, religion, overcoming major obstacles in life; and being differently abled, a student’s self-identification and self-expression.
