“A bill to establish the Office of the Special Inspector General for Unlawful Discrimination in Higher Education within the Department of Education.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states congressional findings concerning elite college admissions practices, including that (1) such admissions allocate prestige and opportunity; (2) prior race-based preferences violated the Equal Protection Clause, as held in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (143 S. Ct. 2141, 2023); (3) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits race discrimination by federally funded entities; (4) some colleges have issued statements or policies inconsistent with the ruling; and (5) institutions must comply with the Constitution and federal laws, which the federal government has a duty to enforce.
This section establishes within the Department of Education the Office of the Special Inspector General for Unlawful Discrimination in Higher Education, headed by a Special Inspector General appointed by the President with Senate confirmation based on integrity and expertise in higher education admissions, auditing, civil rights, law, academic administration, education regulation, or investigations. (The Special Inspector General is removable per 5 U.S.C. §403(b) and paid at the rate for inspectors general under 5 U.S.C. §403(e).) The Special Inspector General must (1) receive, review, and investigate allegations from students or employees at covered institutions (i.e., higher education institutions receiving federal student aid or institutional aid under the Higher Education Act of 1965) of admissions, financial aid, or academic practices violating the Equal Protection Clause (per Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 143 S. Ct. 2141 (2023)) or Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (2) review federal policies incentivizing such violations; and (3) recommend remedies, employee discipline (including removal), funding ineligibility, further probes, and policy reforms to institutions, the Secretary of Education, the Attorney General, and specified congressional committees. (Thus, the office enforces the Supreme Court's ban on race-conscious admissions at federally funded colleges.) The Special Inspector General has inspector general authorities and duties under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. ch. 4, §§404(b)(1), 406), including personnel appointment and confidentiality protections for complainants.