State action and race discrimination in accrediting agencies

[Nelson Lund]

Podberesky v. Kirwan, a 4th Circuit decision from 1994, is one that I 
know of, though it's pre-Grutter.

Nelson Lund
George Mason

William Funk wrote:

>The National Assn of Scholars letter states "Minority-only fellowships have
>been successfully challenged by the Center for Equal Opportunity on a number
>of American college and university campuses."  I couldn't find any federal
>cases on Westlaw.  Is anyone familiar with federal court decisions finding
>minority-only fellowships or scholarships a violation of Title VI or the
>Equal Protection Clause?
>Bill Funk
>Lewis & Clark Law School  
>
>  
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu [mailto:conlawprof-
>>bounces at lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Volokh, Eugene
>>Sent: Friday, February 22, 2008 11:24 AM
>>To: Conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu
>>Subject: State action and race discrimination in accrediting agencies
>>
>>	Any thoughts on this letter to the Deputy Secretary of HHS from
>>the National Association of Scholars?  I'm not sure what the right
>>constitutional analysis would be here -- and specifically whether the
>>HHS is violating the Constitution by interacting with the CSWE in these
>>ways (especially as to item 1) -- but I'd like to know what others
>>think.  (We could assume for purposes of the discussion that the factual
>>allegations are accurate and ask whether the HHS's use of the CSWE in
>>various ways is constitutional; or of course if people have evidence
>>that the factual allegations are mistaken, that would be worth noting as
>>well.)  Thanks,
>>
>>	Eugene
>>
>>
>>http://www.nas.org/nas-initiatives/CSWE-initiative/CSWE_round3/Troy_ltr-
>>11feb08.pdf
>>
>>...  Health and Human Services is connected to CSWE in at
>>least three ways: (1) The Public Health Services Commissioned Corps
>>requires that the social workers it employs have degrees from
>>CSWEaccredited
>>programs; (2) CSWE receives grants from the Substance Abuse
>>and Mental Health Services Administration, which is part of HHS, and (3)
>>CSWE receives grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, which
>>is
>>also under HHS jurisdiction. The two grants, which date back to 1974 and
>>1978, support CSWE's "Minority Fellowship Programs," which are described
>>on CSWE's website (http://www.cswe.org/CSWE/scholarships/fellowship/).
>>
>>Minority-only fellowships have been successfully challenged by the
>>Center
>>for Equal Opportunity on a number of American college and university
>>campuses. The Department of Education and the Justice Department have
>>also
>>set the pace for opening minority-only scholarships and fellowships to
>>all
>>applicants. Such scholarships are blatantly discriminatory, as they
>>restrict
>>candidates to those of particular races and ethnic origins. I suspect
>>that
>>CSWE's Minority Fellowship Programs likewise rests on dubious
>>legal foundations. Be that as it may, HHS is in the awkward spot of not
>>only funding race-specific
>>scholarships but also funding those scholarships through an organization
>>that is, top to
>>bottom, riddled with racial quotas and other forms of discrimination....
>>
>>The CSWE bylaws require representation by members of under-represented
>>groups,
>>among them "women; African Americans/other Blacks; Asian Americans and
>>Pacific Islanders,
>>Chicano/Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, other Latino(a)/Hispanics;
>>Native
>>Americans/American Indians; persons with disabilities; and gay, lesbian,
>>bisexual, and
>>transgender persons." To fulfill this inclusion requirement, CSWE has
>>declared that "the
>>Nominating Committee shall develop and maintain specific procedures
>>designed to ensure the
>>election of persons from historically under-represented groups on slated
>>and in elected bodies."
>>
>>In a forthcoming article, "Social Work Agonistes," in our journal,
>>Academic Questions,
>>Dr. David Stoesz describes the voting procedures:
>>
>>"CSWE's method for assuring participation of under-represented groups
>>has been to
>>construct ballots disallowing open nominations for positions, assuring
>>that leadership positions
>>are reserved for people based on their ascribed characteristics: ballots
>>feature two African
>>Americans for an open position, two women for another, two Native
>>Americans for a third, etc.
>>While nominees may be added to the slate constructed by the National
>>Nominating Committee,
>>these are permitted only when they conform to the ascribed attributes
>>required for an open
>>position. In this manner CSWE has instituted a quota system of
>>participation by members of
>>under-represented groups."
>>
>>In our view, this discrimination violates Title VI of the Civil Rights
>>Act, since it is part
>>and parcel of CSWE's federally funded programs and activities.
>>Furthermore, because CSWE
>>works in an official and quasi-official way in exercising its
>>accreditation authority, it is also
>>violating the 14th Amendment. In all events, we would think that HHS, as
>>a government agency,
>>would itself want to avoid working hand-in-glove with an entity that
>>engages in blatant racial
>>discrimination....
>>_______________________________________________
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>>
>
>
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