Alliance President grades ED letter to Middle States asserting illegal DEI, finds lack of legal foundation

In a foreshadowing of what is to come during this spring's negotiated rulemaking process and updates to the accreditation handbook, the Department of Education sent a letter to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education demanding that all standards related to DEI be removed in order for the accreditor to continue to be federally recognized. Middle States, one of the nation's leading accreditors, had already suspended enforcement of these standards, but in the eyes of the Department, their mere existence, enforced or not, is unlawful and a violation of Civil Rights.

The Department, in their argument, alleges that all programs connected to DEI are race-based, which is incorrect. Veterans, parents, and first-generation students, for example, have no uniform race, and programs that nurture their success are critical DEI initiatives. In its letter, ED also cites the SFFA SCOTUS ruling as its legal foundation, despite the fact that SFFA relates to admissions practices, not a college or university's operations or student support programs.

In response, the Alliance's president and CEO, Mike Gavin, put his English professor hat back on and graded the letter. He found that it does not meet expectations due to a lack of legal foundation and flawed logic. Read his full markup here.