On April 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into this complaint. See the letter here.
On March 16, 2026, Defending Education (DE) filed a complaint against Stanford University with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. DE claims Stanford is breaking Title VI, a law that bans race discrimination in schools that receive federal funds.
For several years, Stanford’s National Board Resource Center has teamed up with the California Teachers Association and UCLA’s National Board Project on support program for teachers. Together, they support “fully-funded” groups of “Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) teachers” working toward National Board Certification, an advanced credential for teachers. To apply, a teacher must “identify as a person of color.” According to the California Teachers Association, the program is still running in the 2025–2026 school year.
Title VI forbids schools that take federal money from discriminating on the basis of race. By shutting out teachers who are not people of color, Stanford has broken that rule. DE has asked the Department to investigate this apparent violation of federal law.
Read the full complaint below:
