DOJ Probes Indiana University Scholarships
The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a new probe into Indiana University's scholarship programs on civil rights grounds. While not focused on digital accessibility, the investigation highlights the DOJ's continued scrutiny of higher education ahead of the April 2026 Title II compliance deadline. The move reinforces the legal risk environment for colleges with any potential compliance gaps.
The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division formally notified Indiana University of the investigation on December 12 of last year, demanding the preservation of all records related to scholarship administration. Investigators are scrutinizing whether IU's scholarship programs discriminate based on race, ethnicity, national origin, or sex, in violation of federal law. DOJ directives required IU to provide a wide range of documents, including all policies, emails, text messages, and hand-written notes concerning scholarship eligibility and selection. The university was also ordered to supply demographic data for all students and details on nondiscrimination training for staff involved in the scholarship process. This probe is part of a larger trend of increased federal scrutiny of university diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In July 2025, the DOJ issued guidance signaling a crackdown on scholarship and leadership programs that consider race and gender, labeling them as potentially illegal. A similar DOJ investigation into "discriminatory practices" regarding student scholarships was launched at George Mason University in July 2025. The investigation follows at least two prior civil rights complaints filed against Indiana University by advocacy groups in 2024 and 2025. One complaint alleged that at least 19 scholarships at IU were unlawfully race-based, calling it one of the most "pervasive discriminatory scholarship" programs the group had encountered. Separately, public universities are facing a critical digital accessibility deadline. By April 24, 2026, institutions serving 50,000 or more people must ensure their websites, apps, and digital course materials comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA. This new rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act establishes a clear, enforceable standard for digital accessibility in higher education for the first time. For years, universities operated in a legal gray area, but the DOJ has now eliminated that ambiguity by mandating a specific technical benchmark.
