The U.S. Department of Justice issued a rule on Dec. 9 updating its regulations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, saying it is eliminating disparate impact liability from its Title VI rules and focusing enforcement on intentional discrimination.
Disparate impact generally refers to holding a recipient of federal funding responsible based on differing outcomes for different groups, even without proof of bias or intent. The DOJ said this approach was added by regulation in 1973 and was “not part of the law.”
Pam Bondi, attorney general, said disparate impact has been used “to undermine the constitutional principle that all Americans must be treated equally under the law,” adding that these regulations “required recipients of federal funding to make decisions based on race.”
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney, stated that these regulations “encouraged people to file lawsuits challenging racially neutral policies without evidence of intentional discrimination.”
The department said Title VI will continue to prohibit intentional discrimination in programs receiving federal financial assistance, and a DOJ spokesperson told JNS that this won’t affect the rights of Jewish students experiencing campus antisemitism.
“This administration has been historically aggressive in protecting students, including Jewish students, to enjoy all constitutionally and legally protected rights on campus with interference based on their faith,” a DOJ spokesperson told JNS, noting that “disparate impact analysis is not necessary to continue to protect students from discrimination and harassment on campus.”
