Bloomberg, Law Schools Are Dropping 'Diversity' From Their DEI Branding:
Some top US law schools have dropped mentions of diversity from their websites as academic centers face a compliance deadline to ensure continued federal funding.
Law schools including Cornell Law School, Vanderbilt Law School, and the University of Virginia School of Law have axed the word “diversity” from their community-focused webpages. The Antonin Scalia Law School took down its diversity page entirely. It’s unclear the exact date these changes were implemented.
“The law is grounded in the pursuit of truth and justice, and I bring with me a longstanding commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Antonin Scalia Law dean Ken Randall said on the now deleted webpage.
The changes come as schools, businesses and nonprofits look for ways to adapt to heightened scrutiny of their diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Law schools are required to adhere to the American Bar Association’s DEI standards by its accrediting body.
Schools are facing a Feb. 28 deadline to ensure their DEI policies, initiatives and programs do not violate federal law or risk their federal funding, according to a Feb. 14 letter from Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for Civil Rights at the Education Department.
The letter is a continuation of the Trump administration’s DEI crackdown. Trump has issued a flurry of executive orders aimed at limiting race- and gender-based diversity programming across the federal government and declaring investigations into DEI initiatives at bar associations and universities.
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