Colleges should step up diversity efforts after affirmative action ruling, the government says

The Biden administration is asking America’s colleges to renew their efforts to make campuses more racially diverse, urging schools to boost scholarships and minority recruiting and to place “meaningful emphasis” on the adversity students face because of their race or finances.

The Education Department issued a report Thursday promoting strategies to increase diversity in the wake of a Supreme Court decision barring colleges from considering the race of applicants in the admission process. It fulfills a request from President Joe Biden to help colleges advance diversity without running afoul of the court’s decision.

In announcing the report, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona called on state and local education leaders to “break down barriers for underserved students and reimagine pathways into higher education.”