Conservative activist organization Young America’s Foundation (YAF)has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education for a longstanding initiative that fosters higher education opportunities for underrepresented and low-income students.
The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, managed by the U.S. Department of Education, was established in 1989. Named in honor of Ronald E. McNair, a Black astronaut who died in the Challenger space shuttle disaster, the primary goal of the program is to support low-income and first-generation college students, as well as those from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, in their graduate education.
YAF, represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, filed the lawsuit on August 27 in a North Dakota federal court, contending that the racial eligibility requirements of the McNair program infringe upon the equal protection clause of the Constitution.
Avery Durfee from the University of North Dakota and Benjamin Rothove from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who are both plaintiffs in the lawsuit, claim that the McNair Program unfairly excludes them based on their race. Both students, active members of YAF, are White and do not meet other eligibility criteria such as being first-generation college students or low-income.
Scott Walker, president of YAF and former governor of Wisconsin, has been vocal in his criticism of the McNair program’s criteria.
“Denying a student the chance to compete for a scholarship based on their skin color is not only discriminatory but also demeaning and unconstitutional,” he said in a statement, “At YAF, we proudly defend our students’ right to be judged on their merit and abilities, not on race.”
The McNair program remains a key element of the TRIO suite of federal initiatives designed to support disadvantaged students from middle school through graduate education. In the 2023-24 academic year alone, it allocated over $60 million to more than 200 colleges.
