U.S. Justice Department to investigate admissions at UC Berkeley, Stanford
The U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday it will investigate four California universities, including UC Berkeley and Stanford, to determine their compliance with a landmark Supreme Court decision two years ago that outlawed race-based affirmative action in college admissions.
It wasn’t immediately clear what impact the investigation might have in California, which is one of nine states nationally that bars affirmative action in college admissions.
The investigations announced by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi are the latest in President Donald Trump’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion policies in higher education. And it is among several actions affecting California education. Also on Thursday, Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced her office is investigating California’s Department of Education over a California law approved last year that prohibits schools from requiring teachers and other staff to disclose to parents that their children may be transgender.
“President Trump and I are dedicated to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity across the country,” Bondi said in a statement. “Every student in America deserves to be judged solely based on their hard work, intellect, and character, not the color of their skin.”
The Justice Department investigation, led by its Civil Rights Division, will examine admissions policies at Stanford University, University of California Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles and University of California Irvine.
Stanford already is in compliance with federal law, spokeperson Dee Mostofi said Thursday.
“Following the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision eliminating race-based affirmative action, we immediately took steps to ensure compliance in our admissions processes,” Mostofi said in an interview. “We continue to be committed to fulfilling our obligations under the law.”
A spokesperson for the University of California system did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In 1996, the Golden State became the first in the U.S. to ban raced-based affirmative action in public education and employment when a majority of voters approved Proposition 209. The law quickly drove a steep decline in admissions of traditionally under-represented students. A majority of voters opted to uphold the ban in 2020.
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action in college admissions and invalidated admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Stanford had previously considered race in its admissions policy, among other factors.
In the ruling, the court’s conservative majority decided that race-conscious admissions plans violate the Constitution and a law that applies to colleges that receive federal funding, as almost all do. Trump administration officials contend that diversity-focused policies at universities discriminate against White and Asian students.
The investigation comes just a week after thousands of University of California faculty and students gathered on campus in Berkeley and statewide to protest what they described as the Trump administration’s “assault on higher education,” including slashed research funding and its crackdown on diversity-focused policies.
Trump’s team has already opened investigations into more than 50 universities for alleged racial discrimination and antisemitism, sparking concerns about free speech restrictions and the targeting of international and immigrant students.
The University of California also faces a U.S. Justice Department investigation over claims the university system allowed an “antisemitic hostile work environment” on its campuses, and UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara face civil rights investigations into antisemitism on their campuses. UC Berkeley is also one of 45 universities being investigated by the Trump administration for allegedly using “racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities.”
The investigations follow a U.S. Department of Education warning to universities to dismantle diversity programs and race-based practices or risk losing federal funding — a threat the Trump administration has upheld.
Trump has tapped Harmeet Dhillon, a firebrand Bay Area attorney and former advisor to Trump’s 2020 presidential bid, to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Bay Area News Group reporter Molly Gibbs and The Associated Press contributed to this story