(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance wants to take funding from colleges and universities that discriminate on race and create a new federal department to investigate those allegations.
Vance, R-Ohio, announced Tuesday he introduced legislation that would create a special inspector general for unlawful discrimination in higher education to investigate college admissions departments that use practices that violate applicants’ constitutional rights.
“Every student in America is entitled to equal protection under the law, regardless of their background,” Vance said. “Yet for decades, America’s higher education cartel has discriminated against applicants and students by adhering to racial preferences under the banner of ‘equity.’ The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in SFFA v. Harvard rightly called for an end to these unjust practices. This bill creates the means necessary to enforce the Court’s decision and hold colleges and universities accountable for illegal discrimination on the basis of race.”
Sens. Ted Budd, R-North Carolina; Mike Braun, R-Indiana; Josh Hawley, R-Missouri; Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri; and Marco Rubio, R-Florida, all signed on to the legislation.
Indiana Republican Rep. Jim Banks introduced a similar bill in the House.
The bill would also create a way for every applicant and school employee to file an allegation of racial discrimination and require regular reports on claims and corrective action.
If a school is found to have racially discriminated against an applicant, it could become ineligible for federal student aid.
The legislation continues a nearly six-month crusade against race-based college admissions by Vance after the U.S. Supreme Court declared affirmative action admissions unconstitutional.
In early July, Ohio’s freshman senator sent a letter to all the Ivy League schools and two Ohio colleges that threatened to investigate any attempts to get around the ruling.
In early August, he sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice asking for those 10 schools to be investigated after he said letters he received from those schools contained near-identical responses.
