DOJ Limits Race in Magnet School Grants

A Justice Department legal opinion subjects the federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program to strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Administration

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The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion on November 5, 2026, concluding that the Magnet School Assistance Program must be evaluated under strict scrutiny. Under the opinion, grants may be approved only when race-conscious use is narrowly tailored to remedy a specific identified illegal discrimination.

Why it matters

The opinion bars grants based solely on increasing racial diversity, reducing racial isolation, or altering racial balance, changing how federal magnet school funding can be awarded nationwide. It reflects a legal reading of the Equal Protection Clause as limiting federal support for magnet schools based on race.

The opinion, dated November 5, 2026, was associated with Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Craddock. The Justice Department says it will work with the Department of Education to ensure MSAP awards comply with constitutional requirements.

The players

Office of Legal Counsel

The Justice Department office that issues authoritative legal opinions on questions of law for executive branch agencies.

T. Elliot Gaiser

Assistant Attorney General associated with the Justice Department opinion on the Magnet School Assistance Program.

Joshua Craddock

Deputy Assistant Attorney General associated with the Justice Department opinion on the Magnet School Assistance Program.

The details

The Magnet School Assistance Program is a federal grant program designed to promote voluntary school desegregation, with its framework tied to concepts such as minority-group isolation. The opinion holds that such race use must meet strict scrutiny before any grant can be approved.

November 5, 2026: Office of Legal Counsel issues the MSAP opinion.

Legal Context

The opinion applies the Equal Protection Clause's strict scrutiny standard to a federal school-funding program, requiring that race-based grant criteria be narrowly tailored to remedy specific identified illegal discrimination. It positions MSAP within the broader constitutional limits on race-conscious federal programs.

Families applying to or operating magnet schools funded through MSAP may see changes in how grant-supported programs are designed and awarded. The Education Department will need to align MSAP awards with the opinion's constitutional requirements.

The takeaway

Federal school-funding programs that consider race must meet a demanding constitutional standard, and grants cannot rest on diversity goals alone. Readers tracking magnet school programs should watch how the Education Department implements the opinion.