Cases To Watch

• On June 29, 2022, the Supreme Court issued its decision ruling that the race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and University of North Carolina were unconstitutional. Our special bulletin discussing the impacts of this case can be found here. In the days following the decision, three groups in Boston – the Chica Project, the African Community Economic Development of New England, and the Greater Boston Latino Network, filed a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate Harvard’s legacy admissions program, which favors children of Harvard alumni. According to the complaint, nearly 70% of donorrelated and legacy applicants at Harvard are white, and admitting more applicants in this group disadvantages applicants of color, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. In light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, we can expect to see more challenges to school’s admissions programs. LCW will monitor this case for developments.

• Antioch University, incorporated in Ohio, is challenging a California statute that allows California non-profit universities to treat adjunct professors as exempt from overtime requirements, while requiring non-profit universities who are incorporated outside of California to classify their adjunct professors as nonexempt. In other words, Antioch has to classify their adjunct professors as non-exempt and pay them by the hour with meal and rest breaks, and comply with overtime requirements. Antioch argues that setting different standards for adjunct professors’ payments based on where a university is located violates the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause, which prohibits laws that treat in-state and outof-state economic interests differently. Antioch argues that this law limits Antioch’s ability to hire adjunct faculty who are experienced professionals in their fields. LCW will monitor this case for developments.

• The U.S. Department of Education recently filed their regulatory agenda for Spring 2023, which indicates that the Department of Education plans to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in December 2023 to amend its implementing regulations for Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to include harassment and other discrimination based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics. The filing notes that the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has received complaints of harassment and assaults based on shared ancestry or ethnicity of Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and other students. Although Title VI only applies to schools receiving federal funding, the updated regulations may help private schools recalibrate how to respond to claims of harassment and assault based on shared ancestry or ethnicity.