Washington D.C.’s government faces legal scrutiny over a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) hiring mandate that limits certain city jobs to graduates of HBCUs. The D.C. Department of Employment Services listed 13 positions in June requiring applicants to hold a bachelor’s degree from an HBCU, earned in either December 2024 or May 2025. Legal experts say the rule likely violates federal race discrimination laws.
Gail Heriot, a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, warned, “If a job qualification—like graduation from an HBCU—is chosen because it will tend to result in more people of a particular race being hired, it’s a violation.” She added, “It’s hard to imagine why anyone would insist that applicants be graduates of HBCUs if the purpose weren’t to hire more African Americans.” Two-thirds of HBCUs have student bodies that are more than 80 percent black, according to Pew Research.
The program, now called Pathways to Public Service, began in 2024 as the HBCU Public Service Program with a $150,000 budget. A $450,000 boost from the Biden Department of Labor expanded eligibility to all HBCU graduates nationwide. Critics say the funding was intended for apprenticeships, not targeted hiring initiatives.
Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Andrew Quinio stated the program “seems unlawful if the requirement that applicants be graduates of an HBCU serves as a proxy for the applicant’s race.” Former Justice Department official Jason Torchinsky warned it would “violate the Supreme Court’s SFFA ruling and open the District up to a lawsuit for race discrimination.”
