Category Archive

Peter Kirsanow has written excellent posts here and here and here regarding the pernicious attempt in California to revoke its Proposition 209 so that preferential treatment on the basis of race, ethnicity, and sex — a.k.a. affirmative action — can be reinstated in state and local public education, contracting, and employment. I just wanted to add that anyone who wants to sign a petition urging state legislators to vote against this execrable idea may do so here. Related posts: TESTIMONY OF ROGER CLEGG, PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL, CENTER FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITY BEFORE THE U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS REGARDING THE PROPOSED EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT We Need More …

The Title IX final rules released today by the Department of Education require major and most welcome changes in the procedures used by almost all public and private schools and campuses campuses across the country to investigate and adjudicate alleged sexual assaults and harassment. The current campus reality is a de facto presumption of guilt, which the Obama Administration demanded and most campuses readily adopted, with minimal procedural protections for accused students and guilt-presuming “training” of investigators and adjudicators. Most campuses have given accused students and their advocates no right to cross-examine accusers and other witnesses – despite repeated Supreme …

Kudos to Idaho! A couple of months ago, I flagged a bill that had been introduced in the state legislature there which would ban all discrimination and preference on the basis of race, ethnicity, and sex in public contracting, education, and employment. I’m now happy to report that the bill passed both houses and last week was signed into law by the governor.  Well done!  As I noted in the earlier post, here’s hoping that more states (and the federal government) follow suit. In the meantime, however, Peter Kirsanow has flagged a bill in California that would do exactly the opposite, namely remove the state law …

In this week’s email we simply want to express that our prayers are with all of you during this difficult time.     As you know, the Center for Equal Opportunity’s guiding principle is the same as our Nation’s traditional motto:  E pluribus unum — Out of many, one.  Those words seem particularly appropriate now, when all Americans are standing together against a common foe.     We at CEO are doing what we can to help stem the terrible tide, and have temporarily closed our offices.  We are sad to report that our chairman’s family has recently suffered a sad loss. …

I’d like to devote my email this week to reviewing the outcome of three complaints — filed against three different educational entities by the Center for Equal Opportunity with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) — that have been successfully resolved for us during the Trump administration.  Together they cover the waterfront of much politically correct race-based decisionmaking in higher education.  We hope they will encourage others to file similar complaints with OCR. Texas Tech Medical School:  “Diversity” Racial Preferences in Admissions Rejected As a result of a complaint that the Center for Equal Opportunity filed in 2004 (!) against Texas Tech, the medical school there last year …

Democrats in Virginia last November gained control of both houses in the state legislature, and elections have consequences. As conservative legal expert Hans Bader has been tirelessly explaining over the last few weeks, Democrats in the state legislature are systematically ruining the state’s business climate and incentivizing frivolous lawsuits, in addition to adopting bills that will release violent criminals from jail or reduce their sentences. The Heritage Foundation likewise sounded the alarm here, noting the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, discussing gun-control proposals, and criticizing the religious-liberty-threatening Virginia Values Act. And don’t expect Governor Ralph Northam to veto anything …

Kudos to the Trump administration, Washington University in St. Louis, and (of course!) the Center for Equal Opportunity. The occasion is the recent resolution reached regarding a complaint that CEO filed last June with the federal Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights about an illegally discriminatory program being run by the university. The program at issue granted various awards to WUSL students, but only if they were black. A poster advertising the program was sent by a member of the university community to us, and we filed a complaint with OCR. The resolution agreement makes this program — and …