The U.S. Department of Education has scrapped decades-old regulations that allowed for legal challenges based on statistical evidence of discrimination, such as cases where policies disproportionately affected certain groups. The move reverses long-standing protections under the concept of "disparate impact," which has been used to address systemic inequities in education and other areas. Critics argue the change could weaken enforcement of civil rights laws, while supporters say it reduces burdensome legal risks for institutions. The decision marks a significant shift in how discrimination claims are evaluated under federal education policies.
The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday eliminated regulations going back more than 60 years that recognized liability for disparate impact, such as when statistics demonstrate a discriminatory ...
