Center for Equal Opportunity

Center for Equal Opportunity
Name	Center for Equal Opportunity
Type	Nonprofit research organization
Founded	1995
Founder	Roger Clegg
Headquarters	Arlington, Virginia
Focus	Civil rights policy, affirmative action, immigration

Center for Equal Opportunity

The Center for Equal Opportunity is a Washington, D.C.–area public policy research organization founded in 1995 that focuses on issues related to civil rights policy, affirmative action, and immigration. It was established by legal scholar Roger Clegg and has been involved in litigation, policy analysis, and public advocacy concerning race-conscious admissions, employment practices, and language policy. The organization has taken positions in debates involving landmark institutions and debates in the United States and has engaged with courts, legislatures, and media outlets.

History

The organization was founded in 1995 by Roger Clegg, a former official associated with U.S. Department of Justice components and conservative legal networks like the Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation. Early activities included responses to rulings from the Supreme Court of the United States and interventions in disputes involving institutions such as University of Michigan, University of Texas at Austin, and Harvard University. Over time the group filed amicus briefs in cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and participated in debates surrounding statutes like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and ballot initiatives in states including California, Michigan, and Washington. Leadership transitions and board participation have connected the organization to figures in conservative legal circles and think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute and the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

Mission and Activities

The organization describes its mission as promoting equal treatment under law and opposing race- and sex-based preferences. Its activities have included filing amicus briefs in suits involving entities like Fisher v. University of Texas-related litigants, producing reports critiquing affirmative action policies at institutions such as University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Yale University, and advocating for legislative reforms in state capitols such as Raleigh, North Carolina, Sacramento, California, and Boston, Massachusetts. It publishes research and op-eds aimed at audiences reached by outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, and provides testimony to committees in bodies like the United States House Committee on the Judiciary and the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

Key Campaigns and Legal Work

The group has been involved in high-profile legal fights over admissions policies at universities such as University of Michigan Law School, University of Texas at Austin, Harvard University, and Princeton University. It has also campaigned against race-conscious contracting programs in jurisdictions like New York City and Los Angeles, and opposed language policy measures concerning English language instruction in school districts including Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Chicago Public Schools. In litigation and advocacy it has aligned with litigants in cases similar to those led by organizations such as Students for Fair Admissions and has submitted briefs in matters tied to precedents from the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke decision and subsequent Grutter v. Bollinger jurisprudence. The organization has also produced reports critiquing demographic weighting in standardized testing debates involving College Board, Educational Testing Service, and state boards of education.

Funding and Organization

Funding for the organization has come from private donors, foundations, and individual philanthropists, drawing attention from observers tracking support networks involving entities such as the John M. Olin Foundation, the Ludwig von Mises Institute-affiliated donors, and donors associated with the Coors family. Governance has included a board and advisory council featuring lawyers, academics, and activists connected to institutions like the American Civil Rights Union, the Cato Institute, and the Hoover Institution. Staffing has included legal counsel who have litigated in federal courts and policy analysts who have produced reports on institutions such as Stanford University, Columbia University, and Cornell University.

Criticism and Controversies

Critics have accused the organization of promoting positions that roll back race-conscious remedies intended to address discrimination, citing conflicts with advocacy groups such as the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the National Urban League. Opponents argue that its legal strategies echo those of conservative litigators at organizations like the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Pacific Legal Foundation, and that its reports selectively interpret data from agencies such as the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Education. Controversies have arisen over the framing of research on affirmative action at universities including University of California, Los Angeles and University of Michigan, and over positions on immigration enforcement that intersect with debates involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement and legislative proposals debated in the United States Congress.

Impact and Reception

The organization's legal briefs and reports have been cited in court filings and media coverage concerning admissions, contracting, and language policy disputes involving entities like The College Board, Educational Testing Service, and public universities across states such as Texas, California, and Michigan. Supporters credit it with influencing litigation strategy in cases that reached the Supreme Court of the United States, while critics contend its impact has contributed to policy shifts that reduce the use of race-conscious measures advocated by civil rights organizations including the LDF and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Academic responses have appeared in journals and commentary from scholars affiliated with institutions like Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, and University of Chicago Law School.

Category:Civil rights organizations in the United States