United States v. President and Fellows of Harvard College

On August 13, 2026, Judge Richard G. Stearns dismissed the case, granting Harvard's motion. The court held that the government failed to plead an ongoing violation of Title VI: the amended complaint focused almost entirely on incidents from the 2023-2024 school year, and the only later incidents, three from March 2025, were 'too isolated and episodic to support a plausible inference that any institutionalized noncompliance with Title VI persists at Harvard to this day.' The court also rejected the government's fallback theory to recover past funds, explaining that Title VI (42 U.S.C. section 2000d-1) permits enforcement only after the government gives notice and determines that voluntary compliance cannot be secured, and that the complaint alleged no noncompliance after the government's June 30, 2025 notice; the court further found the government's determination lacked a rational basis under the Administrative Procedure Act. Judge Stearns stressed that the ruling was limited to the specific circumstances presented, where there was no plausible allegation of noncompliance following statutory notice. The Clerk was directed to dismiss the case. The government may appeal to the First Circuit.