U.S. Department of Education ‘Dear Colleague Letter’
Dear Student Affairs Deans and Admissions Officers:
The U.S. Department of Education released a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) on Feb. 14, 2025, regarding institutions’ obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”) as well as the Department of Education’s interpretation of the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court case, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA).
We are in the process of reviewing the DCL, and the Department of Education has indicated that it will provide further guidance, which we will review when it becomes available. As a reminder, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) has and will continue to comply with all federal and state anti-discrimination laws, including Title VI. In the meantime, we have provided FAQs on some of the subjects covered by the DCL.
Sincerely
Roger J. Ward, EdD, JD, MSL, MPA
Provost and Executive Vice President
Patty Alvarez, PhD, MS
Chief Student Affairs Officer and Vice President
Q&A
Q: What is a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL)?
A: A DCL is not a "law” or regulation. However, DCLs are documents we traditionally look to as framing an agency's intentions and interpretations, and they help institutions refine their internal compliance approach to be prepared for those enforcement priorities. They should be interpreted within the context of current law, including court precedent.
Q: The DCL mentions graduations. I’ve heard students will be prohibited from wearing tassels or stoles that denote their membership in various identity-based affinity organizations (e.g., Latinx Law Students Association). Is that true?
A: No. The wearing of tassels, stoles, or other forms of expression as part of graduation regalia remains subject to applicable rules as set forth by UMB and its schools. The DCL does not impact those rules, and if a school allows students to wear tassels or stoles denoting their membership in an organization (including identity-based), those students may continue to do so.
Q: Does the DCL change the law?
A: No. As stated in footnote 3 of the DCL, “This guidance does not have the force and effect of law and does not bind the public or create new legal standards.”
Q: The DCL says “a school may not use students’ personal essays, writing samples, participation in extracurriculars, or other cues as a means of determining or predicting a student’s race and favoring or disfavoring such students.” What does this mean?
A: UMB does not discriminate against students based on race or other protected classification in any educational program or activity. Consistent with existing law, UMB and its schools do not use race in making admissions decisions and do not ascribe an inherent benefit in race for race’s sake. In that regard, an essay may not be used as a method for determining a student’s race and then using their race as a basis for an admissions decision. However, as Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his majority opinion in the SFFA case, “Nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise” in a way that is “tied to that student’s unique ability to contribute to the university. In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual — not on the basis of race.” Thus, UMB schools can continue to use essays for lawful purposes.
Q: Does the DCL impact the types of educational programming or speakers that student groups may invite to campus?
A: No. Student groups should continue to follow existing UMB policies related to speakers and other programming.
Q: Does the DCL impact curricula in our schools? Do I need to remove things from my syllabi related to coursework about “systemic and structural racism” or other topics that discuss the impact of health disparities, access to justice, etc.?
A: No. This DCL does not impact academic instruction, First Amendment-protected speech, or academic freedom.