Justice Department accuses UCLA law school of discriminating against white, Asian applicants

The Department of Justice accused UCLA’s law school of discriminating against white and Asian applicants and favoring Black and Latino applicants in 2023, 2024 and 2025, violating federal law, reported the Associated Press.

The department previously accused the UC Berkeley law school and the medical schools at UCLA and UC San Diego of illegally discriminating against white and Asian applicants.

The Justice Department has said colleges use applicants’ personal statements and other proxies to consider race in admissions. It also said the mean LSAT score was lower for admitted Black applicants than for admitted white applicants.

“Like many of its peer institutions, UCLA Law School runs a two-tiered admissions system whose academic bar for acceptance shifts up or down depending on the color of your skin,” said Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the department’s Civil Rights Division, in a news release.

The UCLA School of Law issued a statement disputing the claims.

“Students are admitted through a comprehensive, merit-based review process that considers each applicant’s achievements and experiences,” the statement said. “We are confident in our process.”

In 2023 the Supreme Court said colleges cannot use affirmative action in admissions, but can assess how applicants’ backgrounds speak to broader characteristics.

This story was originally published by EdSource.