About-Face on Scholarships : U.S. Eases Its Ban Against Race-Based Aid

The Education Department today backed away from a total ban on financial aid targeted for minorities. It said colleges and universities will be allowed to award scholarships based solely on race as long as federal funds are not used.

Assistant Secretary Michael Williams, who heads the department’s Office of Civil Rights, announced a six-point policy regarding race-exclusive scholarships at a news conference today.

Williams said the new policy should “prevent disruption to the efforts of colleges and universities to attract minorities to their campuses and to reassure students that no scholarships that have already been awarded . . . will be affected in any way.”

Central to the policy is the Education Department’s decision to let universities that receive federal funds administer scholarships funded entirely by private persons or organizations where the donor restricts eligibility for the scholarships to minorities.

Under past Administration policy, public and private universities could set aside public or private funds for scholarships targeted to minorities.

Under the new policy, public schools will be able to offer only non-federally funded scholarships for minorities. Private schools that receive federal funds will be prohibited from offering any scholarships based on race.

There are no restrictions on scholarships offered by private schools that accept no federal funds.

Most minority scholarship programs already are privately funded.

The policy announced today is less restrictive than a proposal made last week by Williams under which schools would have been barred from administering any scholarships based solely on race.

The department also said:

--Universities will have four years to review their programs under Title Six of the Civil Rights Act and to assure that students do not suffer from the changes.

--During the four-year transition period, the Administration will investigate any complaints it receives but it will not make a broad review of whether schools are complying with the policy.

--The Administration will encourage state legislatures, local governments and private universities receiving federal funds to review the legal restrictions on minority scholarships. The goal of the reviews will be to ensure that minorities and other needy students get the maximum possible amount of assistance.

President Bush called Williams on Monday to discuss his concerns, said an Education Department source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In early drafts of the ruling that was announced today, Williams had wanted merely to soften the department’s decision by giving colleges two years to comply. But that relaxation was dropped in favor of a complete retreat.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater told reporters that Bush was “very disturbed” about Williams’ decision. The President ordered a quick review with advice from lawyers in the White House and the Justice Department.

Williams acknowledged last week that he had not consulted with anyone at the White House before issuing the ruling.