Legal


  • St.Louis, Washington University
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    EEOC lawsuit alleges Washington University segregated DEI training by race

    Under the Trump administration, the agency has vocally cracked down on diversity, equity and inclusion work under the auspices of Title VII.

    By Caroline Colvin • Aug. 14, 2026
  • .
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    DOJ’s antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard dismissed

    Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the agency’s civil rights division, said federal officials are "assessing next steps."

    By Aug. 13, 2026
  • A person speaks using a microphone as they stand in front of a crowd holding yellow protest signs.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Kayla Bartkowski via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Unions sue Education Department over ‘professional’ degree rule

    Under a new rule, the designation allows students to take out $200,000 in federal student loans versus $100,000 for other graduate programs.

    By Anna Merod • Aug. 13, 2026
  • Columbia University
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Columbia faces discrimination lawsuit from Palestinian employees and students

    Plaintiffs allege the Ivy League institution instead "actively participated in and amplified" racial and political targeting of its campus members.

    By Aug. 12, 2026
  • Cornell University students sit on campus
    Image attribution tooltip
    Matt Burkhartt via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Antitrust lawsuit against 32 colleges with early decision can proceed, judge rules

    However, U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley dismissed the claims against Common App and other noncollege defendants.

    By Aug. 11, 2026
  • Wendy Raymond speaks into a microphone at a desk.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Alex Wong via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Haverford settles with group accusing college of fostering antisemitism

    Under the settlement terms, the private college will bar discrimination against Zionist, Jewish and Israeli students and employees.

    By Aug. 10, 2026
  • A sign bearing Texas A&M University's name at the institution's entrance.
    Image attribution tooltip
    wellesenterprises via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    AAUP sues Texas A&M System over teaching limits on race and gender

    The American Association of University Professors and four faculty members allege that those restrictions violate free speech rights. 

    By Aug. 4, 2026
  • .
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Sonoma State University
    Image attribution tooltip

    Sonoma State to relaunch NCAA athletics after budget cuts eliminated sports

    The university faced outcry and a lawsuit over its decision to eliminate sports last year as part of broader cuts to close a $24 million deficit.

    By July 29, 2026
  • .
    Image attribution tooltip
    APCortizasJr via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    3 dozen of Harvard’s peers back its court fight against the Trump administration

    Yale, Columbia, Brown and a raft of other institutions warned of damages to the national research system from “draconian” research funding cuts.

    By July 27, 2026
  • University of pennsylvania campus
    Image attribution tooltip
    aimintang via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    EEOC drops bid to press Penn for Jewish employee information

    The Ivy League institution had fought the demand in court, citing workers’ privacy and the extensive information it had already turned over to the agency.

    By Emilie Shumway • July 24, 2026
  • A sign in front of conference center with glass exterior, with palm trees in foreground.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Ben Unglesbee/Higher Ed Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    ‘A more defensive posture’: College finance leaders navigate a turbulent policy world

    Experts discussed loan caps, federal probes and other shifts at the National Association of College and University Business Officers’ annual meeting.

    By July 23, 2026
  • An image of a gavel.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Appeals court rejects Education Department’s bid to delay borrower defense decisions

    The ruling is the latest in the long-running Sweet v. McMahon settlement, which promises timely decisions on borrower defense claims or automatic debt relief.

    By July 22, 2026
  • President Donald Trump speaks to media members on Air Force One on July 8, 2026.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Win McNamee via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Deep Dive

    ‘A razor’s edge’: How colleges are navigating civil rights probes under Trump

    Some colleges have cut deals, while others have fought back against federal officials. Both come with risks, legal experts say.

    By Danielle McLean • July 20, 2026
  • The U.S. Supreme Court seen from the outside
    Image attribution tooltip
    Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    What does the Supreme Court’s transgender athlete ruling mean for higher ed?

    The landmark decision has big implications for transgender students — and the Title IX and litigation landscape for colleges.

    By David Weisenfeld • July 13, 2026
  • .
    Image attribution tooltip
    The image by Bobak Ha'Eri is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
    Image attribution tooltip

    California community college settles with professor who sued over DEI policy

    Bakersfield College agreed to not require Daymon Johnson to use diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility principles in his teaching or scholarship.

    By Updated July 10, 2026
  • .
    Image attribution tooltip
    The image by Johan Hendrikse is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
    Image attribution tooltip

    AAUP sues over Texas Tech classroom instruction limits

    The national faculty group, alongside a local affiliate, asked a judge to block the directives and rule them unconstitutional.

    By July 8, 2026
  • Close up shiny wooden law gavel in dark brown color on top of a wooden table in an office.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Florida loses appeal over college accreditation

    A panel of three federal judges rejected Florida’s argument that the system unconstitutionally delegates “unchecked authority” to private agencies.

    By July 7, 2026
  • .
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Will Simpson Photography
    Image attribution tooltip

    Florida’s Stop WOKE act struck down for colleges on appeal

    Tuesday’s ruling called the state’s attempt to limit classroom discussion "a breathtaking assertion of power to ban unpopular ideas from public discourse."

    By July 7, 2026
  • Protesters for and against transgender athletes competing in women's sports gather outside the Supreme Court on January 13, 2026 in Washington, DC.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Heather Diehl via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Supreme Court upholds bans on transgender athletes in women’s college sports

    Colleges and K-12 schools can determine eligibility for women's and girls' sports teams based on "biological sex," the court ruled.

    By , June 30, 2026
  • An image of a gavel.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Court pauses Education Department regulations limiting ‘professional’ degrees

    The agency released widely contested regulations this spring to block access to higher borrowing limits for many graduate students.

    By June 25, 2026
  • U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission exterior
    Image attribution tooltip
    Caroline Colvin/Higher Ed Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    EEOC opens antisemitism probe into NEA, Brandeis Center says

    The center's complaint alleges the teachers union didn’t specify Jews as the primary victims of the Holocaust, among other things. 

    By Naaz Modan • June 23, 2026
  • Kentucky State University gate
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Kentucky State gets OK for program cuts amid state-mandated overhaul

    The state’s higher education authority signed off on the narrowed offerings even as a lawsuit contests the university’s transformation.

    By June 15, 2026
  • A judge's gavel is shown in a close-up photo sitting on a pedestal on a desk in a courtoom
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Trump administration appeals ruling against $100K H-1B visa fee

    The fee has caused concern among higher education experts that it would hamper colleges’ ability to recruit foreign scholars and instructors. 

    By June 11, 2026
  • Donald Trump speaks while signing an executive order at his desk.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Win McNamee via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Coalition asks judge to halt Trump’s anti-DEI contractor order

    The group, led by the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, filed a lawsuit over the executive order in April.

    By Emilie Shumway • June 10, 2026
  • Sparsely spaced pedestrians on quad green in fall in front of classical building.
    Image attribution tooltip
    The image by Dirk DBQ is licensed under CC BY 2.0
    Image attribution tooltip

    University of Iowa cannot change endowed scholarship for Black students, state high court rules

    The institution sought to change the scholarship's eligibility to first-generation students, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's ban on race-conscious admission.

    By June 8, 2026