Higher Ed Counsel & Strategic Solutions

On August 14, 2025, the US District Court for the District of Maryland vacated the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR) February 14, 2025 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL). Hunton previously provided an overview of the implications of the February 14 DCL for colleges and universities in client alerts published in February and March 2025.

On December 10, 2025, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it was rescinding portions of Title VI regulations that impose liability for “criteria or methods of administration which have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination,” also known as disparate impact liability. DOJ will now enforce Title VI only against intentional discrimination, not against neutral policies that have disproportionate effects on racial or ethnic groups. The move follows an April 23, 2025 Executive Order directing the Attorney General to review Title VI regulations and “initiate appropriate action to repeal or amend” those regulations “to the extent they contemplate disparate-impact liability.”

On January 21, 2026, the US Department of Education (ED) voluntarily dismissed its appeal in American Federation of Teachers, et al. v. US Department of Education, a case pending in the Fourth Circuit. ED’s appeal followed its unsuccessful defense of DEI-related guidance (the February 14, 2025 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) and related FAQ), which Hunton covered in prior client alerts here and here.

On December 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced the launch of a new Section 117 foreign gifts and contracts reporting portal. On February 23, 2026, ED announced a new interagency partnership with the U.S. Department of State (State) to support ED’s enforcement of Section 117 compliance by colleges and universities.

On April 24, 2025, federal courts in New Hampshire, Maryland, and the District of Columbia weighed in on three separate challenges brought against the U.S. Department of Education’s February 14, 2025 Dear Colleague Letter (“DCL”), the March 1, 2025 Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”), and the April 24, 2025 Certification Requirement for states and public school districts (the “Certification”).