Illinois scholarship program illegally excludes applicants based on race, lawsuit claims

Illinois’ scholarship for minority teachers violates the 14th amendment, according to a new lawsuit.

The Pacific Legal Foundation and American Alliance for Equal Rights are suing Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for implicitly discriminating against white students.

The lawsuit, filed Oct. 22, explains the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program offers scholarships of up to $7,500 to aspiring teachers – as long as they aren’t white.

According to the MTI website, applicants must “be a minority student of either African American/Black, Hispanic American, Asian American or Native American origin, or a qualified bilingual minority applicant.”

The program also stipulates that scholarship recipients go on to teach at a school with at least 30% minority students.

Even despite the ongoing teacher shortage, the plaintiffs argue the program’s parameters are neither beneficial nor constitutional. 

“Such blatant race-based discrimination against individuals who could otherwise contribute to a robust teacher pipeline in Illinois serves no compelling government purpose,” the suit reads. “It is demeaning, patronizing, un-American, and unconstitutional.” 

It alleges the program, which launched in 1992, violates the 14th Amendment and should instead be open to all aspiring teachers regardless of race.  

“The equal protection guarantee of the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment protects individuals from government discrimination due to arbitrary classifications like race,” Pacific Legal said in a press release. “If Illinois officials want to fund college scholarships for deserving students, they can do so. 

“What they can’t do is use race to favor some applicants at the expense of equal opportunity for others.” 

Similar programs have come under scrutiny around the country. 

Last month, a white California teacher won a lawsuit against his union for limiting a leadership role to minority applicants. 

A Wisconsin program similar to MTI gave scholarships to aspiring minority teachers but was accused of discrimination and violating the Civil Rights Act. 

And Baltimore County Public Schools got in hot water for using government grants to recruit only minority and female STEM teachers, which critics called “overtly discriminatory.”