Equal Protection Project Challenges Racial and Gender-Based Discrimination in Higher Education Institutions: A Legal Battle for Equality

The Equal Protection Project — founded and led by Prof. William Jacobson, law — filed a Civil Rights Complaint against the Ithaca City School District on Aug. 12, accusing the district of racially discriminating against white students by excluding them from the Students of Color United Summit 2024….Less than 48 hours later, the ICSD emailed parents and students, apologizing for the use of “exclusionary language,” and opening up the event to all students, Fox News reported.?

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Since its founding in February 2023, The EPP has filed over 30 Civil Rights Complaints against education institutions with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.?

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Most of these complaints are against race-based scholarships, challenging the legality of the identity-based grants and fellowships in institutions including Ithaca College, Indiana University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.??

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Jacobson is long known for his conservative-leaning views on his blog, Legal Insurrection. He has been an outspoken critic of Critical Race Theory, a framework based on the premise that race is a social construct and racism is embedded in legal institutions. In February, Jacobson launched CriticalRace.org , a database that provides information to parents and students about the critical race training and anti-racism initiatives seen at colleges in the U.S.

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The EPP is the third project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, a media organization started by Jacobson, following Legal Insurrection and CriticalRace.org ….

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According to Jacobson, the EPP was launched to counter what he called the “group-identity ideology” in universities, which he described through examples such as “critical race theory; intersectionality; ‘anti-racism’ and diversity, equity and inclusion.” Jacobson argued that this “group-identity ideology” compromises individual rights and dignity in favor of group identities.??

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“Unfortunately, the prevailing ideology on many campuses, including Cornell, in practice rejects treating students as individuals, instead treating them as proxies for identity groups,” Jacobson wrote to The Sun.?

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Jacobson explained that the EPP aims to challenge this “ideology” by using legal mechanisms to ensure each individual is treated equally without regard to race or ethnicity.

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Jacobson emphasized the importance of people being “treated fairly and equally without regard to race or ethnicity,” which is established by the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and in the internal rules governing colleges and universities, including Cornell.?

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“We fight against [the group-identity ideology] by filing legal challenges that seek to hold institutions to the requirements of the law and their own set of rules,” Jacobson wrote….

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“There are no systematic barriers to affordability of higher education based on skin color or ethnicity,” Jacobson wrote.?

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Jacobson argued that instead of promoting racial diversity, universities should seek to promote diversity of opinions and experience.?

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“You can achieve diversity [of viewpoint and experience] without regard to skin color or ethnicity,” Jacobson wrote.??

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Educational institutions challenged by EPP found it difficult to justify their identity-based scholarships and programs.?

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After EPP’s complaint, Ithaca College changed the criteria of Rashad G. Richardson “I Can Achieve” Memorial Scholarship and The African Latino Society Memorial Scholarship from “students of color at Ithaca College” to “students who exemplify leadership in programs with the BIPOC Unity Center or other programs across campus.”???

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“In over half of our challenges, the institutions have modified or eliminated their race and ethnicity-based eligibility requirements soon after receiving our complaint,” Jacobson wrote….

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Meanwhile, Jacobson is looking to expand EPP’s initiatives to include challenging sex-based and gender-based scholarships, such as the $76,000 Women in STEM award at Rochester Institute of Technology, which was open to only female and non-binary students.

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“Within the scope of promoting equality, it is likely we will expand into challenging single-sex programs and scholarships that violate Title IX, as well as programs that also engage in gender-identity discrimination,” Jacobson wrote. “While racial discrimination will remain our focus, it is likely we will take a broader view of our mission to promote equality.”

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It’s very satisfying that EPP’s tremendous impact is being recognized. But the fight is never easy and is ongoing.

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We are a small organization going up against powerful and wealthy government and private institutions devoted to DEI discrimination.

"Equal Protection Project Challenges Racial and Gender-Based Discrimination in Higher Education Institutions: A Legal Battle for Equality"