Washington, Oct 2 (IANS) : The US Justice Department said that UCLA School of Law discriminated against Asian and white applicants by using race in admissions, an allegation the prominent California law school disputed as it defended its selection process as merit-based.
The department’s Civil Rights Division said its investigation found that UCLA Law discriminated against white and Asian students while granting admission to its incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025.
It said the practices violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial discrimination by recipients of federal financial assistance, as well as the US Supreme Court’s 2023 decision restricting the use of race in university admissions.
“Like many of its peer institutions, UCLA Law School runs a two-tiered admissions system whose academic bar for acceptance shifts up or down depending on the color of your skin,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said.
“The use of race as a thumb on the scale that helps or disadvantages any student is illegal,” she said. “The Department will continue to enforce equal treatment under the law everywhere,including in our nation’s law schools.”
UCLA Law rejected the implication that its admissions practices were unlawful.
“UCLA School of Law is committed to making admissions decisions in compliance with all applicable laws, including the California Constitution and Proposition 209, federal statutes, and the US Constitution,” the school said in a statement Thursday.
“Students are admitted through a comprehensive, merit-based review process that considers each applicant’s achievements and experiences. We are confident in our process,” it said.
The Justice Department said its investigation examined UCLA Law’s admissions practices after the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
According to the department, UCLA Law’s application includes personal statements and essay prompts that investigators concluded were designed to elicit information about an applicant’s race.
The department also alleged that admissions staff instructed prospective students during recruitment activities on how they could disclose their race in sections of their applications.
It cited UCLA Law’s annual “Diversity Admissions Open House” as one such recruitment effort.
The department said its analysis found that UCLA rejected white and Asian applicants who had the same Law School Admission Test scores as Black and Hispanic applicants who were admitted.
It also said that in the combined 2024 and 2025 admissions cycles, half of admitted Black applicants had LSAT scores that were at or below those of 90 per cent of admitted white applicants.
Those figures are findings asserted by the Justice Department. UCLA’s response said its review is comprehensive and considers applicants’ achievements and experiences rather than relying on a single academic measure.
The department said law schools receiving federal financial assistance are subject to federal non-discrimination laws.
Where investigators find a violation, the Justice Department said it will seek a negotiated settlement to bring admissions practices into compliance. If settlement efforts fail, the department said it will file suit.
