Five Ohio law schools remove race-based scholarships

The Buckeye Institute filed Freedom of Information Act requests to five Ohio law schools, and has since led to all race-based programs being removed from the law schools that were investigated.

The Buckeye Institute has similar investigations ongoing, namely at The University of Michigan.

Several law schools based in Ohio have halted race-based scholarships and internship programs that were previously being offered across the state. 

Five law schools across the state had recently been subject to investigative pressure from The Buckeye Institute, as reported by The Center Square

Specifically, The Buckeye Institute found that law schools at Cleveland State University College of Law, Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University; University of Akron School of Law, University of Cincinnati College of Law, and University of Toledo College of Law offered race-based programs that they claimed violated federal law in four Ohio bar associations, three law firms and the five public law schools. 

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The Buckeye Institute said that as a result of the public records requests that found the race-based opportunities being offered at each institution, each of the law schools have since “[R]emoved illegal and unconstitutional race-based requirements for their scholarships and internship programs.”

“Federal law and the U.S. Constitution prohibit discrimination based on race,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “Although the goals of these programs were laudable, it is a victory for the Constitution and the rule of law that all of the law schools ended these discriminatory programs or opened them to all applicants.”

The Buckeye Institute is also working to question similar race-based offerings at UW-Green Bay, UW-Parkside and UW-Whitewater.

In addition to race-based offerings being removed from some law schools based in Wisconsin, The Buckeye Institute is also in the process of questioning race-based programs at the University of Michigan. 

Having sent a letter to The University of Michigan’s general counsel, The Buckeye Institute has criticized the university’s reluctance to release public records that could show race-based programs, scholarships, or other offerings. 

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In The Buckeye Institute’s statement on the matter, they state that they have been attempting to obtain documents from The University of Michigan that show what processes accreditors at the university’s medical and law schools use. 

Specifically, The Buckeye Institute is attempting to determine if “unconstitutional diversity requirements” are being followed within the university’s schools. 

The Buckeye Institute’s work builds on mounting pressure for American educational institutions to remove DEI and race-conscious practices from the classroom and admissions programs.