Education Department Sued Over Race-Based Criteria for McNair Grants

Young America’s Foundation, a conservative activist group, sued the U.S. Department of Education this week over a federal grant program aiming to increase doctoral attainment among underrepresented students.  The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program is currently available to low-income, first-generation students, or those who are underrepresented in graduate education. The department defines those groups as students who are Black, Hispanic, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiians or Native American Pacific Islanders. The federal lawsuit, filed in North Dakota district court, argues that the race-based qualifications for McNair participants violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause and asks the judge to permanently block the Education Department from including them as criteria.