Justice Department Finds University of California Davis Medical School Discriminates Based on Race in Admissions

The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division announced its determination that the University of California, Davis School of Medicine (Davis Med) discriminates based on race in its admissions process, violating the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 decision. The finding follows a six-month investigation, which revealed that Davis Med adopted practices to circumvent the Supreme Court's ruling by using class-based "socioeconomic variables" as proxies for race. The Department will engage in settlement negotiations to ensure the school's admissions practices comply with federal non-discrimination laws.