Asian Parents Claim STEM Program Biased for Black, Hispanic Students

(StraightNews.org) – Asian parents have filed a lawsuit against a New York STEM program for bias in favor of black and Hispanic pupils. The Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), run by New York’s Department of Education, automatically accepts black and Hispanic kids, whereas Asian children need to prove their families earn low incomes, the parents allege.

The lawsuit, filed at a federal court, claims that even blacks or Hispanics whose parents are millionaires are accepted, disadvantaging Asian families with incomes just below the threshold. The Asian parents claim entry to the program is, therefore, based on ethnicity and is illegal. “This is outright discrimination against Asian-American students pursuing the STEM field,” said Yiatin Chu of the Asian Wave Alliance. They are represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation and the Equal Protection Project.

On its website, STEP states that it aims to increase the number of “historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students” who wish to go to college but need help to “improve their participation rate in mathematics, science, and technology.”

The Equal Protection Project has previously filed a suit against the State University of New York’s medical school for similar admissions policies that discriminate against white and Asian students. The Middle School Summer Enrichment Program for 7th and 8th graders gives priority to black students or those from Native American or Latino backgrounds, and William Jacobson, the founder of the Equal Protection Project, said it teaches young people that discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnicity is an acceptable practice.

That complaint, filed with the US Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights, noted the US Supreme Court’s decision to end race-based affirmative action programs in American colleges.

Last June, the Supreme Court ruled that race could no longer be considered a factor in university admissions decisions, prompting criticism from President Biden. The President said he “strongly” disagreed with the Court’s ruling. “We cannot let this decision be the last word. Discrimination still exists in America,” he added.