The Biden administration launched an investigation into a University of Florida College of Medicine- Jacksonville program for possible civil rights violations, according to a letter obtained by Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Christopher Rufo.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened the investigation on Monday after medical watchdog Do No Harm Senior Fellow Mark Perry filed a complaint against the Department of Pediatrics Visiting Elective Scholars Program in October 2022, according to the letter. The complaint accused the program of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits race-based discrimination, because it is only accessible to “underrepresented” students.
The student program is open to “Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian, and LGBTQ+” students who are applying for 4th year pediatric electives, according to the program website. The scholarship was created to “encourage and promote fourth year medical students from underrepresented backgrounds to rotate at the department of pediatrics in the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville.”
The scholarship includes a $2,500 reimbursement for travel and lodging, a $62 per week meal card, meetings with leadership and other perks, according to the website.
BREAKING: Federal civil rights authorities have opened another investigation into the University of Florida’s racially segregated student programs, following a complaint from Professor @Mark_J_Perry.
We are exposing UF’s radical DEI bureaucracy—and we will shut it down. pic.twitter.com/YvArRB5vFE
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) April 11, 2023
The OCR will investigate “whether the University discriminates on the basis of race, color, or national origin” through the program and “whether the University discriminates on the basis of sex with respect to the Visiting Elective Scholars Program, in violation of Title IX,” the letter reads. The office clarifies that opening an investigation does not imply it has made a decision about the complaint.
“During the investigation, OCR is a neutral fact-finder, collecting and analyzing relevant evidence from the Complainant, the University, and other sources, as appropriate,” it states.
Rufo, who is a newly appointed member of the New College of Florida board of trustees, shared the letter on Twitter on Tuesday morning. He said that the program is “racially segregated.”
“We are exposing UF’s radical DEI bureaucracy—and we will shut it down,” Rufo wrote.
UF College of Medicine- Jacksonville, the Department of Education, Do No Harm and Rufo did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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