Quick Hit:

Despite a direct order from the U.S. Department of Education under the current administration, over 70 American medical schools continue to operate racially discriminatory DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) offices. These bureaucracies—which were originally normalized under the Biden administration—remain entrenched in institutions that receive federal funds, flagrantly violating both federal mandates and the U.S. Constitution. Watchdog group Do No Harm warns these schools are now on notice.

Key Details:

The Department of Education gave federally funded institutions a 14-day deadline in February 2025 to eliminate all racially discriminatory policies, including those justified under DEI language.
Despite the warning, at least 70 medical schools continue to operate DEI offices that explicitly prioritize race and identity over merit.
The list includes top-tier institutions like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Duke—schools that have openly disregarded the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against race-based admissions.

Diving Deeper:

The Department of Education issued a firm directive on February 14, 2025: any institution of higher education receiving federal funds must immediately cease all use of racially discriminatory practices in admissions, hiring, compensation, and scholarship decisions. The agency explicitly called out DEI programming as a common justification for these illegal policies and gave schools a two-week deadline to comply.

Rather than heed the warning, more than 70 U.S. medical schools have chosen to ignore the order. A May 2025 review by the medical watchdog group Do No Harm revealed that these institutions continue to maintain DEI offices—even after the group had initially documented 78 schools with such offices earlier this year.

These DEI offices have served as ideological strongholds, often obscuring what critics describe as systematic discrimination against qualified students—particularly white and Asian applicants—under the pretext of “equity.”

Harvard’s DEI arm, the Office of Recruitment & Multicultural Affairs (ORMA), openly states that it focuses on recruiting students from “groups historically underrepresented in medicine” and “those who identify as LGBTQIA+.” Similarly, Boston University’s DEI council declares its aim to create an “equitable and inclusive culture” with a specific emphasis on “racial equity” at all leadership levels. Yale School of Medicine’s DEI office continues to seek out candidates based on race and background rather than merit or achievement.

These practices directly defy the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which held that admissions policies using race as a deciding factor are unconstitutional. The Court made clear that "the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned, but the color of their skin." Yet schools across the country persist in advancing policies that stereotype and separate students by race.

The Department of Education has committed to enforcing the law, noting that “racial discrimination will not be tolerated.” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor emphasized that students must be judged by their accomplishments, not by skin color, and the Office for Civil Rights will begin investigations where necessary. This administration has made clear: noncompliance will have consequences.

Do No Harm’s full list of DEI-defiant schools reads like a who’s who of elite medical institutions. Among the 70 named are:

Harvard Medical School
Yale School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
Duke University School of Medicine
Georgetown University School of Medicine
University of California (Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles)
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Boston University School of Medicine
University of Michigan
University of Washington
Wake Forest University School of Medicine

These schools continue to justify their DEI infrastructure with vague language about “pipeline strengthening,” “racial equity,” and “culture transformation.” Georgetown’s office even boasts of offering “anti-oppressive DEI training” to enact sustained culture change—language that not only implies a political agenda but openly promotes it.

America’s medical institutions were once the global gold standard for merit and excellence. Under this administration, that standard is being restored. Schools will be held accountable. The time for race-based ideologies masquerading as progress is over. The future of medical education is one of fairness, excellence, and constitutional integrity.