WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal (AFL) filed a federal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights against Colorado State University (CSU) for its illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, which violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”
CSU President Amy Parsons responded to the Executive Order by sending a campus-wide letter falsely claiming the University complies with federal law, despite clear evidence to the contrary. CSU has not removed its DEI programs, but instead has renamed them to purposefully hide these unlawful programs, all to give the illusion that CSU is complying. For instance, CSU’s Office of Inclusive Excellence cleverly overhauled its site to hide illegal DEI policies displayed on its original site. Nevertheless, these attempts to conceal CSU’s policies do not change the fact that CSU is violating federal law, as its DEI policies are still applied across campus.
AFL’s letters argue that the following DEI policies violate federal law:
- CSU has a “Faculty Recruitment Toolkit” explicitly stating that while “preparing for a [faculty search], there are many opportunities to embed best practices for enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).”
- CSU has also provided discriminatory scholarships to students based on their “immutable characteristics.”
- CSU’s required program, the “All-University Core Curriculum” (AUCC), described as “integral to the entire undergraduate experience,” has three required credits from the following classes needed to complete any degree.
- Border Crossings—People/Politics/Culture (ETST 256).
- Thinking Toward a Thriving Planet: Approaches to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (IU 173A).
- Sociology of Race and Racism (SOC 205).
- Identity, Power, and Social Justice (SOWK 130).
- Racial Inequality and Discrimination (ECON 212).
- CSU also likely violates the First Amendment with its Bias Reporting System, which encourages CSU community members to report “[a]ny act of [] bias.” The University reviews submitted bias reports, and if the Bias Assessment Team members determine an “Incident of Bias” has occurred, “optional conversations” akin to a struggle session are offered to “individuals and groups who, whether intentionally or not, may have caused harm to others related to some form of bias.” This “Bias Reporting System” leads to a “chilling effect” on campus and likely violates students’ First Amendment rights.
CSU engages in and imposes these practices in violation of federal law and President Trump’s Executive Order, all while taking substantial taxpayer money from the federal government. AFL will not stand by as CSU violates both. Instead, it must be held accountable. President Trump’s Executive Order provided the tools to the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education to ensure that institutions that receive taxpayer funding comply with the law.
“CSU ought to stop discriminating based on race, sex, national origin, and other immutable characteristics and comply with federal law and President Trump’s Executive Order,” said Nick Barry, Senior Counsel at America First Legal. “Trying to ‘hide’ the discrimination isn’t the solution. Stopping is the solution. Otherwise, CSU is risking the loss of a third of its budget, which comes from federal funds.”
AFL will continue to fight illegal and discriminatory policies in higher education and defend the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Read the letter to the Department of Education here.
Read the letter to Colorado State University here.
Follow us on social media for the latest updates on America First Legal’s fight to protect your constitutional rights.
For updates, follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, Truth Social, and YouTube.
For press inquiries, please contact [email protected].
Photo Credit: Adobe Stock / jzehnder
###
