UC Admissions and Federal Law

Re “UC Affirmative Action Halt May Clash With U.S. Law,” July 26:

Your reporter seriously distorts an interview I had with him and misrepresents the position of the U.S. Department of Education in investigating a complaint that admissions practices of the University of California may be in violation of federal civil rights laws. The basic thrust of the article is to attribute to me the position that UC may have violated the law by dropping affirmative action and instead relying on test scores and grades as a basis for selecting new students.

I stated no such position. First, as I made clear in accepting the interview, I did not address the University of California situation at all. Rather, the request for the interview purported to be for the purpose of obtaining background on general civil rights principles, not to discuss California’s action. Second, I did not in any way suggest that California’s action to drop affirmative action could be deemed a violation of the civil rights laws. In fact, the complaint against UC that is the basis for the depart- ment’s investigation did not ask the department to look into the removal of affirmative action as a possible violation of civil rights laws, but rather challenged aspects of the current admissions policy; for example, that it relies too heavily on standardized test scores.

What I find particularly distressing is the implication in the article that civil rights requirements and affirmative action, as practiced by this administration, are at odds with high academic standards. To the contrary, the department recognizes the appropriate, nondiscriminatory use of long-accepted academic criteria such as grades and test scores. The point of the current investigation is to determine whether California’s procedures are valid and appropriate measures for assessing an applicant’s academic promise.

The Department of Education supports affirmative action in education to achieve diversity or to remedy the efforts of past discrimination. However, except in those situations where it may be necessary to remedy the effects of discrimination, we have never suggested that it is legally required.

JUDITH A. WINSTON

U.S. Department of Education

General Counsel

Washington