The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division and the Jersey City Board of Education entered into a voluntary settlement to end what the DOJ has dubbed “race and national origin discrimination” in student admissions at McNair Academic High School.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
The settlement agreement involving the college prep magnet school with a competitive admissions process resolves the DOJ’s investigation under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
“Quota systems that define students by their race or national origin have been illegal since the 1970s,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“Federal law requires that all students, regardless of their race or national origin, be allowed to compete for admission to the best schools in their district – and this Department of Justice will ensure they have equal opportunity to do so.”
The DOJ investigation determined that McNair admitted students under a quota system that set aside a certain number of seats in four categories: “Black,” “White,” “Hispanic,” or “Other.”
Applicants were divided into these categories based on their self-identification and after offering admission to an equal number of students in each category, McNair filled the remaining class seats without regard to race or national origin.
Under the settlement agreement, the school district will overhaul its admissions process to end the practice of reserving a certain number of seats for students based on race or national origin.
In addition, the district will no longer provide any preference or benefit to a McNair applicant based on his or her race or national origin.
Before the next admissions cycle- which will be for the 2027-2028 school year- the school district must also adopt an admissions policy that complies with these prohibitions and train staff on nondiscriminatory admissions.
On top of that, the district will submit status reports to the Department on McNair’s admissions process.
The settlement agreement will be in effect until August 15, 2029, unless the DOJ and the school district agree otherwise.
President Donald Trump’s Administration has been cracking down hard on universities and colleges across the country for allegedly having race and national origin-based preferences when accepting students, what he and the DOJ call “illegal DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) admissions.”
The move follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 landmark ruling on Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, although this seems to be the first act of enforcement by the Trump Administration against a high school.
Jersey City BOE officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.