Is This The End Of DEI?
The accrediting institution for medical schools has scrapped diversity, equity, and inclusion protocols from its official guidance, and DEI is on life support at law schools.
Almost three years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 vote, ruled that affirmative action in college admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
That bowling ball has traveled down the lane. It is now hitting the deeply entrenched institutional policies adopted decades ago, when there was serious and pervasive employment discrimination against women and minorities.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which accredits M.D.-granting institutions in the U.S. and Canada, has quietly removed DEI protocols from its official guidance. The WSJ welcomed the move, stating that some of the worst excesses of DEI occurred in medical schools.
Research has shown that medical schools were applying different standards by race, with one study showing that black applicants were more than seven times as likely as similarly situated white applicants to gain admission and more than nine times as likely to be admitted as similarly situated Asians.
A report by the James G. Martin Center, a think-tank based in North Carolina, found DEI was “embedded” in medical school coursework, “often displacing core scientific content,” and that new faculty members were required to sign “loyalty” oaths to implement DEI. The report encouraged eliminating all DEI policies in medical schools, and advocated mandating the use of “objective” admissions criteria.
Meanwhile, the American Bar Association in May 2025 suspended Standard 206 — which required law schools to demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion - through August 31.
The ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar advanced a proposal last month to repeal Standard 206, noting other professional accreditors have revoked or indefinitely suspended diversity rules.
