Trump to withdraw Obama-era guidelines on considering race in college admissions: Report

Carlos Barria | Reuters

President Donald Trump participates in the signing ceremony for the “VA (Veterans Affairs) Mission Act of 2018” in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 6, 2018.

President Donald Trump will withdraw Obama-era policy documents on Tuesday that encouraged the consideration of race in college admissions, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

The documents, from 2011 and 2016, encourage colleges to voluntarily promote diversity and “avoid racial isolation” in their admissions practices. They were issued to provide guidance on the administration’s interpretation of a number of Supreme Court cases related to affirmative action.

The Trump administration signaled the documents could be on the chopping block a year ago, when it began searching for lawyers who were interested in investigating “intentional race-based discrimination” on college campuses. Administration lawyers are investigating a 2015 complaint alleging that Harvard University discriminates against Asian-Americans in its admissions practices.

Reversing the Obama-era guidelines would be the latest move by the Trump administration to re-shape higher education policy. In February 2017, the Justice Department withdrew two policy documents related to colleges’ enforcement of Title IX, a gender discrimination statute.

The Departments of Justice and Education did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the White House.

Read the full WSJ report here.