Student Group Pledges to Re-Up Yale Lawsuit Tossed by Biden DOJ

Students for Fair Admissions intends to file a lawsuit against Yale University for its discriminatory admissions process, according to a Wednesday press release.

The announcement comes the same day the Justice Department decided to drop its discrimination lawsuit against Yale, upending a two-year federal investigation that found the Ivy League school often used race as a “determinative” factor in its admissions decisions. Edward Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions, said in a statement that his group plans to sue Yale “in the coming days.”

“It is disappointing that the Department of Justice withdrew from this important lawsuit, which had exposed Yale’s illegal use of quotas to achieve racial and ethnic proportionality,” Blum said. “It is important that this lawsuit continues to be vigorously litigated through the courts during the coming months and years if necessary.”

The Trump administration’s Justice Department concluded in August that Yale had unlawfully discriminated in favor of “preferred racial groups,” who were more likely than Asian or white applicants to be selected for admission. 

Wednesday’s decision indicates the Justice Department under President Joe Biden could reverse its support for Students for Fair Admissions’ related lawsuit against Harvard University. The group sued Harvard in 2014 for admissions processes that it said discriminated against Asian students. Last year, the Justice Department wrote an amicus brief on behalf of the group.

Blum declined a request to comment further on the impending lawsuit.