The prestigious University of Southern California and Loyola Marymount University are both the subject of a civil rights investigation over a college-access program that’s only available to Hispanic students, the California Post can reveal.
A letter from the Office of Civil Rights to William Jacobson, president of the anti-racism Equal Protection Project, on August 13th confirmed both schools are being investigated for discriminating against students on the basis of ”national origin”, allowing the program to exclude students who do not identify as Hispanic.
The letter was in response to a June 29 complaint filed by Jacobson organization alleging that USC and LMU may have violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Jacobson told The Post they were ”very pleased” the Department of Education’s office for civil rights was has taken action “very promptly.”
“The fact that they opened it this quickly is a sign to us that while they haven’t reached conclusions, based on the materials we submitted, there appears to be a very strong case here,” he said.
The complaint alleged that USC and LMU violated federal civil rights law by sponsoring, promoting and facilitating the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Youth Leadership Institute, which restricts participation to students who identify as being of “Hispanic heritage.”
The Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) is billed as a college-access and leadership-development program for Hispanic high school students.
The complaint alleged that the universities go beyond simply allowing an outside organization to use their campuses, instead providing institutional support for the program.
The allegations include that USC and LMU host YLI events, provide on-campus housing and other facilities, promote the program, furnish speakers and university personnel, make classroom and meeting space available and provide other university resources, according to the DOE’s letter.
The department said both private universities receive federal financial assistance from the Education Department and therefore must comply with Title VI, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in federally funded programs and activities.
Jacobson believes that despite the universities’ status as private institutions, the fact that they receive federal funding makes it the government’s responsibility to investigate whether a violation has occurred.
“The source of the funding is completely irrelevant to the school’s obligations under Title 6. They are required in all of their programming to comply with Title 6,” he said. “So it is simply not a defense to say that the money for this event, or this program came from private funds.”
The complaint was filed after the Equal Protection Project challenged the universities’ involvement with YLI, arguing that the program’s Hispanic-only eligibility requirement amounts to discrimination based on national origin.
LMU has described itself as a sponsor and host of the program, while USC has promoted its relationship with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and participated in YLI activities.
The foundation says it filed complaints directly with the DOE and does not notify universities beforehand, which it describes as its standard practice.
The complaint specifically pointed to university resources being made available to participants, including campus facilities and overnight housing, arguing that those benefits are unavailable to students who cannot participate because they do not identify as Hispanic.
“You don’t have a right to discriminate if you’re at an institution that receives federal funding,” the Cornell Law School professor noted.
The Post has reached out to the Department of Education, YLI, USC and LMU for comment.
The Education Department also warned the universities against retaliation during the investigation.
“Please be advised that the Universities must not harass, coerce, intimidate, discriminate, or otherwise retaliate against an individual because that individual asserts a right or privilege under a law enforced by OCR,” the letter states.
If found liable, Jacobson wants the universities to provide compensation to everyone who was excluded, although he said it would be challenging.
“It’s also our view that they need to figure out a way to compensate, in some manner, the students who were excluded from this,” he said. “It’s not enough to say, ‘Okay, we may have violated the Civil Rights Act. We won’t do it again.’”
The probe marks the latest federal scrutiny of California universities over alleged civil rights violations by the Trump administration.
The Justice Department previously sued UCLA over allegations that the university was deliberately indifferent to race and national origin discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students.
Federal agencies have also opened investigations into other California educational institutions over alleged civil rights violations.
