Two nonprofit organizations are calling for an investigation into Oregon’s education grants, which they claim are discriminatory against white individuals.
On May 28, Defending Education and Do No Harm submitted a joint complaint to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. This complaint targets the Oregon Department of Education and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), alleging that a state grants program discriminates based on race.
Neither the U.S. Department of Education nor the Oregon education authorities responded to requests for comments.
Dr. Kurt Miceli, Chief Medical Officer for DNH, expressed significant concern about what he describes as clear discrimination in Oregon’s public school funding practices. He pointed out that the state’s laws include explicit racial quotas and bonuses linked to race, labeling this approach as unacceptable.
According to the guidelines, the Charter School Equity Grant is awarded to institutions where at least 65% of students are disabled or belong to racial or ethnic groups historically experiencing academic disparities. The complaint argues that this practice violates the principles of color-blindness mandated by Title VI and the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
The complaint references a Supreme Court decision indicating that governments shouldn’t use vague concepts of past societal discrimination to favor one racial group over others.
Moreover, it claims that the HECC breaches the same statutes by distributing extra taxpayer funds to schools based on the number of minority graduates through its Public University Support Fund (PUSF), which has a budget of about $1.07 billion for the upcoming 2025-2027 fiscal period.
Sarah Perry, Vice President of Defending Education, stressed that both the Oregon Department of Education and HECC appear to be in violation of Title VI by overseeing programs that discriminate racially. She noted that the education department manages over 1,200 public K-12 schools and serves around 560,000 students, receiving more than $150 million each year in federal support. The Charter School Equity Grants program specifically funds charters with a majority minority population, suggesting an illegal quota system.
Perry further criticized the HECC for its funding practices based on minority graduation rates, asserting that such race-based approaches contradict constitutional principles. She anticipates that the Department of Education will investigate the state’s funding utilization.
Defending Education aims to counter the influence of activist agendas on educational institutions, as it states on its website. The organization previously reported that over $300 million was raised for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at universities nationwide since 2021.
Miceli stated that utilizing racial demographics for funding in K-12 education and universities not only violates moral standards but also the Constitution and federal laws against discrimination. He criticized the push for equity over equality in educational funding as a serious misstep.
Do No Harm, representing healthcare professionals and advocates, aims to keep identity politics out of medical fields. Miceli emphasized the need for Oregonians to know that tax dollars are supporting equal education opportunities, lamenting that the current funding system disadvantages white and Asian students. He expressed hope that the complaint will bring attention to these practices and prompt action from the Department of Education.
