HUD first formalized recognition of disparate impact liability in a 2013 rule issued during the Obama administration. That interpretation was affirmed in 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. that disparate impact claims are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act. During President Donald Trump's first term, HUD revised the rule to more closely reflect the Supreme Court's Inclusive Communities decision and to clarify its application.
The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, which is supposed to protect students from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sex, age and disability status, isn't what it once was. The Trump administration laid off nearly half the staff in March, shuttered seven of its 12 regional offices, shifted the hollowed-out agency's focus to new priorities (including keeping transgender women out of women's sports) and then reportedly terminated more employees amid the ongoing shutdown.
The administration has repeatedly accused Harvard of engaging in discriminative practices and displaying a lack of concern for antisemitic actions - allegations that Harvard has pushed back on. In June, the HHS' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notice of violation, citing Harvard as acting "deliberately indifferent" toward discrimination and persecution of Jewish and Israeli students. Shortly after, the Trump administration referred the matter to the Justice Department for possible civil rights enforcement.
Changing the interpretation of race-based discrimination, increasing flexibility within the college accreditation system and reworking the process to yank federal financial aid eligibility for the certain civil rights violations are top priorities for Linda McMahon and the Department of Education, according to the agency's rule-making agenda released Thursday. The Unified Spring Agenda, which reported first, provides brief descriptions of what the department wants to change for each topic and a loose timeline for the rule-making process.
