The US Education Department investigates Cal State San Bernardino as Trump dismantles the agency

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Cal State San Bernardino is one of more than 50 universities under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education, even as President Donald Trump attempts to unravel the department. 

A statement from the department’s Office for Civil Rights listed three California campuses — Cal State San Bernardino, Cal Poly Humboldt and UC Berkeley — among universities it says violated Title VI of the education code. That’s the section of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that prohibits organizations that get federal funds from discriminating based on race, color or national origin.

The investigations aim to “ensure universities are not discriminating against their students based on race and race stereotypes,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in the statement.

The Cal State University system is reviewing the claim and will cooperate in the investigation, said Amy Bentley-Smith, a Cal State spokesperson said in a statement.

“The CSU continues to comply with longstanding applicable federal and state laws and CSU policies and does not discriminate or provide preferences on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin,” she said. 

A UC Berkeley official said the campus also is responding to the federal investigation. 

“UC Berkeley has an unwavering commitment to having a campus free of discrimination,” Assistant Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof said in a statement. 

The Department of Education claims the three California universities violated civil rights laws by partnering with The PhD Project, which it describes as “an organization that purports to provide doctoral students with insights into obtaining a Ph.D and networking opportunities, but limits eligibility based on the race of participants.”

The PhD Project describes its mission as developing business school faculty and said this year it’s open to all applicants.

“Our vision is to create a broader talent pipeline of current and future business leaders who are committed to excellence and to each other, through networking, mentorship, and unique events,” it said in a statement . “This year, we have opened our membership application to anyone who shares that vision.”

Ahlam Muhtaseb, a professor of media studies at Cal State San Bernardino, said the federal complaint doesn’t make sense, because the university doesn’t offer a doctorate in business. It does offer a doctorate in educational leadership, and Muhtaseb believes that’s what the Department of Education is targeting.

“It’s frivolous because they are saying that we are infringing on the rights of white students because we have admitted 90% students of color,” into the educational leadership program, she said. “That is a ridiculous allegation because we are a Hispanic-serving institution.”

About 70% of students at Cal State San Bernardino are Latino, 10% are White, 6% are Asian and 5% are Black.

“So this is natural that this is the community that we serve,” Muhtaseb said.

The investigation, she said, “has a chilling impact. I see it as an attack on our marginalized communities.”

It’s not clear how the Department of Education will conduct the investigation, however, because the Trump Administration is trying to eliminate the department.

On March 11, the department announced it was cutting its own staff by half. On March 14 it announced it would investigate the universities for alleged civil rights violations. Last Friday Trump issued an executive order to dismantle the department.

The Department of Education did not respond to an email from CalMatters, and the phone line for its press information office had an automated message stating that it was temporarily closed.

On Monday, a coalition of advocacy groups and state leaders, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta, sued to block the elimination of the department and the mass firing of its employees, arguing it would impair the administration of student loans, disability services and other functions.

They pointed out that Congress created the department and has sole authority to close it.

Faculty at campuses targeted by the investigation said it has already lost its original purpose.

“The Department of Education has been more or less dismantled in terms of its civil rights and student aid, but has now been turned against the institutions it was designed to support,” said Ryder Dschida, a history professor at Cal Poly Humboldt.