Power Grab/Make it too expensive to hold him accountable
UNC agrees not to challenge Trump’s race guidance in court to close 18 federal probes
— UNC agrees not to challenge Trump's race guidance in court to close 18 federal probes.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill signed a deal with the Justice and Education Departments that runs through 2028. It pays nothing, and it promises not to sue over the administration’s rules for schools that take federal money.
What happened
On October 19, 2026, UNC-Chapel Hill signed an agreement with the Justice and Education Departments that closes 18 Education Department civil-rights investigations and a Justice Department compliance review opened April 18, 2025. Other investigations are held in abeyance until the deal ends on December 31, 2028.
UNC agreed to comply with DOJ’s July 29, 2025 guidance for schools that receive federal money, and to “take no action to evade, deny, or challenge the Guidance through litigation or otherwise.” It agreed to race-blind admissions and scholarships, a ban on face masks that conceal identity, mandatory antisemitism training for all students, faculty and staff, and discipline for student groups found to engage in antisemitic discriminatory conduct. It will send the government quarterly reports of the discrimination complaints it receives and hire a “Merit and Civil Rights Administrator” who reports to the chancellor.
Who benefited
The administration got a signed promise from a flagship public university not to contest its rules in court. The government can verify UNC’s reports with “reasonable inquiries” and judge compliance “in its sole discretion.”
Who wanted something
UNC kept its eligibility for federal grants, contracts and awards. It paid nothing and admitted no wrongdoing. Chancellor Lee Roberts said the deal resolves the probes “in a way that protects our mission,” and UNC said it expressly affirms academic freedom. The agreement says it was made to avoid “the prospect of defunding or other loss of federal support.”
Who lost out
UNC’s students and faculty, whose protest and admissions rules are now set in an agreement with the federal government and reported to it every quarter until 2028. Student groups face discipline, including loss of funding or recognition, for conduct the agreement calls antisemitic.
Why it matters
The deal closes 18 probes in exchange for a promise not to sue over the administration’s guidance. It follows Columbia’s $221 million settlement and the administration’s fight with Harvard, which sued instead.
Sources U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (primary)Reuters (via Investing.com)Inside Higher EdWRAL
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