SALT LAKE CITY, UT: May 27, 2026 – Today, Do No Harm and Defending Education jointly filed a federal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights against two Oregon state agencies for discriminating on the basis of race in programs or activities that receive federal funding.
The complaint alleges that both Oregon’s Department of Education and Higher Education Coordinating Commission violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause as well as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by taking race into account when funding public schools.
“Oregon’s use of student racial demographics to allocate public funding for K-12 schools and universities is immoral and violates the Constitution and federal antidiscrimination law. Political activists have long pushed institutions to support equity over equality, and Oregon’s system of race-based funding to remedy vague claims of ‘societal discrimination’ is a clear example,” said Kurt Miceli, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Do No Harm. “Oregonians deserve to know their tax dollars support equal educational opportunities for all. However, the state’s current system distributes public funding using racial quotas and race-based ‘bonuses’ that prioritize certain student racial demographics while actively disfavoring white and Asian racial groups. Our complaint shines much-needed light on these discriminatory practices, and we look forward to the Department of Education holding Oregon accountable.”
“Oregon’s Department of Education and Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission appear to be violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by administering programs that explicitly discriminate on the basis of race,” said Sarah Parshall Perry, Vice President and Senior Legal Fellow at Defending Education. “The Department oversees more than 1,200 public K-12 schools and over 560,000 students, and it receives more than $150 million annually in federal grant funding. But it operates a Charter School Equity Grants program, which explicitly funds charters that have at least a 65-percent minority population — something that looks very much like an illegal race-based quota. The Commission fares no better, as it awards taxpayer funds to schools based on the number of minority students who graduate from each. That kind of race essentialism is odious to the Constitution, and we look forward to the Department of Education’s investigation into how the state is using its educational funds.”
Oregon’s Department of Education is a state agency that oversees and provides funding to public schools, including public charter schools. Pursuant to state law, the department restricts “Charter School Equity Grants” to schools having at least 65 percent of their student bodies composed of prioritized groups, including certain preferred racial or ethnic groups. Similarly, Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission is a state agency that distributes funding to Oregon’s seven public universities and 17 community colleges. Through the Public University Support Fund, the commission distributes “bonus” taxpayer funds to schools based on the number of completed degrees by “underrepresented” students, which considers specified, prioritized racial and ethnic groups.
The complaint argues that Oregon’s racially discriminatory funding schemes are based on “amorphous claims of societal discrimination” repeatedly rejected by the United States Supreme Court. Because Oregon’s racial classifications cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny, the state’s discrimination violates the “color-blind” mandate of Title VI and the Equal Protection Clause.
Both Do No Harm and Defending Education have done notable work to rid education of racial discrimination and political bias and instead create a system centered on merit and excellence. This complaint was filed as part of the organizations’ efforts to hold institutions and state government agencies accountable to federal law.
Do No Harm, established in April 2022, has rapidly gained recognition and made significant strides in its mission to safeguard healthcare from ideological threats. It has over 50,000 members, including doctors, nurses, physicians, and concerned citizens across all 50 states and 14 countries.
