Assistant Secretary Trainor’s Guidance on the Fair Housing Act’s Application to Racially Segregated School Housing

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
WASHINGTON, DC 20410-2000
ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR
FAIR HOUSING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
June 23, 2026
Dear Colleague:
I write to highlight a disturbing trend on America’s university and college
campuses—the rise of institutionalized separatism on the basis of race—and remind
educational institutions and fair housing organizations of the requirements of the
Fair Housing Act.1
For decades, American youth had the privilege of growing up in a post-civil rights
movement America completely removed and repaired from its past tolerance for
racial injustice. Rather than celebrate this remarkable victory for the Nation, its
citizens, and its colorblind constitutional principles, many institutions of higher
learning have propagated the pernicious idea that racial and ethnic divisions are a
healthy—indeed, desirable—part of our national life. On campus, this has taken the
form of racially separate residences, orientation programs, and graduation
ceremonies. There is a term for these arrangements: neo-segregation.
In 2016, for instance, California State University, Los Angeles reportedly began
offering “Black-Only” housing to students.2 That same year, the housing website for
the University of California, Berkely featured “a picture of black students” in a
segregated dormitory alongside the statement: “I enjoy being around peers who look
like me.”3 The outrage that would follow from pairing the same statement with a
picture of white students in a dormitory is not difficult to imagine. And for good
reason: decent Americans will not tolerate the morally contemptible project that is
race segregation—and neither does federal law. Yet educational institutions persist
and deploy dissembling terminology to facilitate this conduct.
Universities employ focus-group tested words and phrases, such as “diversity,”
“multiculturalism,” “safe spaces,” and “intersectional allyship,” that not only
encourage neo-segregationist schemes but undermine the integrationist aspiration of
one American people, united by the common bonds of shared citizenship, bounty, and
1 This guidance does not have the force and effect of law and does not bind the public or create new
legal standards. This document is designed to provide clarity to the public regarding existing legal
requirements under the Fair Housing Act.
2 Segregation or Sanctuary? Black-Only University Housing Draws Criticism, CBS NEWS SACRAMENTO
(Sept. 8, 2016), https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/segregation-or-sanctuary-black-only-
university-housing-draws-criticism/.
3 Hank Adler, Promoting and facilitating segregated student housing . . . in 2016?, LOS ANGELES DAILY
NEWS (Aug. 26, 2016), https://www.dailynews.com/2016/08/26/promoting-and-facilitating-segregated-
student-housing-in-2016/ (internal quotation marks omitted).

June 23, 2026
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sacrifice, and governed by the Constitution—“the greatest political privilege that was
ever accorded to the human race.”4
These jargonistic words and concepts are also designed to immunize universities that
engage in these potentially unlawful discriminatory practices. As the late Justice
Antonin Scalia observed, while “talk[ing] the talk of multiculturalism and racial
diversity in the courts,” many institutions of higher education instead “walk the walk
of tribalism and racial segregation on their campuses—through minority-only
student organizations, separate minority housing opportunities, separate minority
student centers, even separate minority-only graduation ceremonies.”5 But the Fair
Housing Act unequivocally prohibits segregating dwellings based on race.6
The Fair Housing Act provides that “it is the policy of the United States to provide,
within constitutional limitations, for fair housing throughout the United States.”7 To
this end, the Act makes it unlawful “to refuse to sell or rent” or to “make unavailable
or deny” housing to anyone because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status,
national origin, or handicap.8 Schools, colleges, and universities that provide housing
for their students must adhere to the Fair Housing Act.9
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development will no longer
tolerate the unlawful racial discrimination in university housing that has gone on for
far too long in this Nation’s educational institutions.10 Racial segregation was a moral
abomination when it was demanded by the majority in certain regions of the United
States many decades past. It is no less morally outrageous when it is demanded by
other racial groups today.
The law is clear: When educational institutions permit the existence of racially
segregated student housing—or openly encourage separation on the basis of race,
color, or national origin, advertise a discriminatory preference, or have policies that
4 Calvin Coolidge, Speech, Dinner at the White House (Dec. 12, 1924), https://coolidgefoundation.org
/quote/quotations-c/.
5 Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306, 349 (2003) (Scalia, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).
6 Educational institutions that receive federal funds are also prohibited from discriminating on the
basis of race, color, or national origin under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 42 U.S.C. § 2000d,
et seq. Likewise, “the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides that no State
shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws,” and this “central
mandate” requires “racial neutrality in governmental decisionmaking.” Miller v. Johnson, 515 U.S.
900, 904 (1995) (cleaned up).
7 42 U.S.C. § 3601 (cleaned up).
8 Id. at § 3604(a), (f)(1).
9 See, e.g., United States v. Univ. of Neb. at Kearny, 940 F.Supp.2d 974, 979-81 (D. Neb. 2013) (holding
that dormitories are covered dwellings under the Fair Housing Act).
10 The problem is decades old. In 1996, for instance, Wesleyan University “decided to fill nine empty
spaces at Malcolm X house with whites, but backed down when black students objected to living with
anyone of another race. The problem was solved by consigning several white students to the basement
of the philosophy building.” Stephan Thernstrom & Abigail Thernstrom, Reflections on the Shape of
the River, 46 UCLA L. REV. 1583, 1610 (1999).

June 23, 2026
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discourage students from one race, ethnicity, or nationality from living with students
who do not share those characteristics—they violate the Fair Housing Act.
The Department will ensure maximum accountability for educational institutions
violating the Act. No euphemism, woke rationalization, or appeal to “safe spaces,”
“affinity housing,” or “cultural celebration” will shield universities from liability
where intentional unlawful discrimination is found. We will pursue every available
remedy to bring discriminatory institutions into compliance, including, without
limitation, compensatory and punitive damages, civil penalties, and injunctive
relief.11
Anyone who believes unlawful discrimination is transpiring within university,
college, or school housing may file a complaint with the Office of Fair Housing and
Equal Opportunity. Information about filing a complaint with my office, including a
link to the online complaint form, is available here.
Thank you in advance for your commitment to providing our Nation’s students with
an educational environment that is free from unlawful discrimination.
Sincerely,
/s/
Craig Trainor
Assistant Secretary for
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
11 42 U.S.C. §§ 3612-3614. Counsel for intervening parties can recover reasonable attorney’s fees and
costs if they substantially contribute to the success of the litigation.