HUD Urges Colleges to End Race-Based Student Housing

The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Tuesday directed colleges and universities to stop promoting or allowing race-based student housing. The agency stated that these arrangements violate federal anti-discrimination statutes. HUD issued the guidance in a letter sent to its network of fair housing organizations.

The letter described the practice as a "disturbing trend" and warned institutions that they face "maximum accountability" for maintaining the arrangements.

A 2019 study by the National Association of Scholars examined 173 colleges and found that 43 percent offered segregated residential arrangements. The same study reported that 46 percent segregated student orientation programs and 72 percent held segregated graduation ceremonies.

Trainor referenced the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education and said separate facilities remain unequal. The letter concluded that the era of tolerating racial discrimination in housing at educational institutions is over.