The Equal Protection Project (EqualProtect.org) has challenged over 290 institutions regarding over 850 programs that discriminate in the name of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. On June 29, 2026, we filed a Civil Rights Complaint at the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR), regarding a Hispanic-only program for high school students that was held on the campuses and with full institutional support of the University of Southern California (USC) and Loyola Marymount, both in California.
The conferences were organized by the Young Leadership Institute of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. As stated in the Complaint:
YLI is run by an outside non-profit but USC and LMU materially support and participate in YLI. The universities host program events, provide on-campus housing and other facilities, promote the program, furnish speakers and university personnel, make classroom and meeting space available, and provide other institutional resources that facilitate the program’s operation. Accordingly, USC and LMU are legally liable for the discrimination that takes place on their campuses with their support through YLI.
We then documented the roles of USC and Loyola Marymount in the programs, particularly multi-day on-campus events.
The California (and NY) Post covered the original filing:
“We think this is pretty egregious. It’s open discrimination, they don’t try to hide it,” Jacobson told the Post. “The program says it’s only open to students who identify as Hispanic, only those students can participate in these events on campus and by definition, if those are the only students who can participate, those are the only ones who can receive the benefit of temporary housing.”
Jacobson is calling on the DOE to investigate the alleged Title IV violations, while the Title II complaint would fall under the DOJ due to a new intra-agency partnership between the two federal agencies that changed how federal civil rights complaints are handled.
On August 13, 2026, OCR formally opened the case for investigation, the first big step in the process (emphasis added):
On June 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), received your complaint against the University of Southern California (USC) and Loyola Marymount University (LMU) alleging discrimination based on national origin. OCR understands your allegations to be as follows. Both USC and LMU sponsor and facilitate a college-access and leadership-development program run by the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, called the Youth Leadership Institute (the Institute). You further allege that USC’s and LMU’s sponsorship, facilitation, and other support of the Institute discriminate based on national origin because the Institute limits eligibility to students who identify as being of “Hispanic heritage.” Further, you allege that USC and LMU materially support and participate in the Institute by hosting program events, providing on-campus housing and other facilities, promoting the Institute and its programs, furnishing speakers and university personnel, making classroom and meeting space available, and providing other institutional resources.
OCR has authority to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d et seq., and its implementing regulation at 34 C.F.R. Part 100, which prohibit discrimination based on race, color, and national origin under any program or activity that receives federal financial assistance from the Department of Education (the Department). Both USC and LMU are recipients of federal financial assistance from the Department and are required to comply with Title VI….
OCR is opening an investigation to examine whether USC and/or LMU discriminate against students on the basis of national origin by promoting and facilitating the Institute which excludes students from participation who do not identify as Hispanic.
OCR’s initiation of an investigation is not itself evidence of a violation of federal civil rights laws and regulations….
The California (and NY) Post covered the investigation announcement:
The prestigious University of Southern California and Loyola Marymount University are both the subject of a civil rights investigation over a college-access program that’s only available to Hispanic students, the California Post can reveal.
A letter from the Office of Civil Rights to William Jacobson, president of the anti-racism Equal Protection Project, on August 13th confirmed both schools are being investigated for discriminating against students on the basis of ”national origin”, allowing the program to exclude students who do not identify as Hispanic.
The letter was in response to a June 29 complaint filed by Jacobson organization alleging that USC and LMU may have violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Jacobson told The Post they were ”very pleased” the Department of Education’s office for civil rights was has taken action “very promptly.”
“The fact that they opened it this quickly is a sign to us that while they haven’t reached conclusions, based on the materials we submitted, there appears to be a very strong case here,” he said….
The complaint alleged that the universities go beyond simply allowing an outside organization to use their campuses, instead providing institutional support for the program.
The allegations include that USC and LMU host YLI events, provide on-campus housing and other facilities, promote the program, furnish speakers and university personnel, make classroom and meeting space available and provide other university resources, according to the DOE’s letter….
Jacobson believes that despite the universities’ status as private institutions, the fact that they receive federal funding makes it the government’s responsibility to investigate whether a violation has occurred.
“The source of the funding is completely irrelevant to the school’s obligations under Title 6. They are required in all of their programming to comply with Title 6,” he said. “So it is simply not a defense to say that the money for this event, or this program came from private funds.” …
The complaint specifically pointed to university resources being made available to participants, including campus facilities and overnight housing, arguing that those benefits are unavailable to students who cannot participate because they do not identify as Hispanic.
“You don’t have a right to discriminate if you’re at an institution that receives federal funding,” the Cornell Law School professor noted….
If found liable, Jacobson wants the universities to provide compensation to everyone who was excluded, although he said it would be challenging.
“It’s also our view that they need to figure out a way to compensate, in some manner, the students who were excluded from this,” he said. “It’s not enough to say, ‘Okay, we may have violated the Civil Rights Act. We won’t do it again.’”
Reminder: we are a small organization going up against powerful and wealthy government and private institutions devoted to DEI discrimination. Donations are greatly needed and appreciated.
=================================
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.