"A new report released Monday by the American Association of University Professors and its Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure argues that the Trump administration has weaponized federal civil rights laws with a goal of discrediting colleges and compromising their academic freedom and institutional autonomy. The report focuses in part on a surge of investigations that have been launched by the Department of Education since Oct. 7, 2023, especially those that involve national origin and religion."
"Both the Biden and Trump administrations stepped up their enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, after the Hamas attack on Israel prompted a number of protests on college campuses and an increase in reports of antisemitism. Their approaches, however, have been quite different."
The Trump administration has used federal civil rights enforcement as a tool to target colleges, aiming to discredit institutions and weaken academic freedom and institutional autonomy. Department of Education investigations surged after Oct. 7, 2023, with a particular focus on national origin and religion; many probes targeted speech or programming that did not meet the legal threshold for actionable discrimination. Title VI enforcement intensified after campus protests and rising reports of antisemitism, but Biden officials focused on inadequate campus responses and violations, while the Trump administration pursued funding cuts, sweeping institutional changes, and investigations into race-based programs and admissions.
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