America First Legal files discrimination complaint against Colorado State University - Coloradoan
Thomas Clayton
America First Legal files discrimination complaint against Colorado State University
Kelly Lyell- America First Legal Foundation filed a federal civil rights complaint against Colorado State University, alleging discriminatory DEI programs.
- America First Legal claims CSU is hiding DEI programs and violating federal law by awarding scholarships based on 'immutable characteristics' and requiring DEI-focused coursework.
- CSU responded that it takes the complaint seriously and is reviewing the issues raised.
America First Legal Foundation filed a federal civil rights complaint against Colorado State University, alleging that its diversity, equity and inclusion programs are discriminatory and violate federal law.
The complaint was filed June 24 by the nonprofit law firm that was founded in 2017 by Stephen Miller, the current White House deputy chief of staff, and Gene Hamilton. America First Legal’s mission is to “oppose lawless government overreach and fight to restore the rule of law in the United States,” according to its website.
“As with any complaint filed with a governmental agency, the university takes the matter seriously,” CSU spokesperson Tiana Kennedy told the Coloradoan in a July 2 email. “We are reviewing the issues raised in the complaint and will respond appropriately.”
The U.S. Department of Education would not comment on the complaint or say whether an investigation was underway and did not respond to a follow-up email from the Coloradoan. An online database of active investigations by the department’s Office of Civil Rights has not been updated since Jan. 14, 2025.
America First Legal issued a news release announcing it had filed the complaint. In that news release, the law firm accuses CSU and its president, Amy Parsons, of continuing diversity, equity and inclusion programs and practices under different names to “purposefully hide” them and “give the illusion that CSU is complying” with an executive order to eliminate them that was issued Jan. 21 by President Donald Trump.
Parsons issued a statement to the CSU community on Feb. 18 that read “we are confident that the institution currently complies with the law, as we do not use race as a factor in admissions, financial aid, employment or housing, and our cultural centers and identity-based support resources are open to all students.”
In that same statement, America First Legal noted in a letter to Parsons, CSU System Chancellor Tony Frank and members of the CSU System Board of Governors that was obtained by the Rocky Mountain Collegian, the university president went on to acknowledge that “it is necessary to take additional steps to follow the federal administration’s new interpretations.”
She went on to say that “CSU will begin to adjust to the new federal directives. We will shift some employee job duties and human resources policies and processes, and we will make some changes to CSU’s websites to reflect the institution’s compliance with federal guidelines.”
America First Legal argues that those comments are an acknowledgement that CSU was not complying with federal anti-discrimination law at the time.
The news release notes that CSU’s Office of Inclusive Excellence overhauled its website “to hide illegal DEI policies” that were previously displayed on the website.
It then goes on to list specific DEI policies it said are still in place at CSU that America First Legal believes violate federal law:
- A faculty recruitment toolkit that notes “there are many opportunities to embed best practices for enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)” in searches for new faculty members
- The awarding of scholarships it says are discriminatory based on students’ “immutable characteristics.”
- An all-university core curriculum that requires students to complete at least three credits in courses focused on DEI-related topics.
“Colorado State University ought to stop discriminating based on race, sex, national origin, and other immutable characteristics and comply with federal law and President Trump’s Executive Order,” America First Legal senior counsel Nick Barry wrote in a statement shared with the news release. “Trying to ‘hide’ the discrimination isn’t the solution. Stopping is the solution. Otherwise, CSU is risking the loss of a third of its budget, which comes from federal funds.”
 | Tom Clayton Communication and Media Specialist, Public Affairs |
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