America is facing a historical moment, when many are pushing for policies that violate core constitutional and civil rights essential to a free society. DFI exists to defend the Constitution and the rule of law and protect civil liberties at school and work.
Title IX and Equal Protection
DFI firmly supports due process protections in campus Title IX disciplinary procedures, defends Title IX to preserve athletic and educational opportunities for women and girls, and supports Title IX’s exemption for religiously affiliated schools.
Title VI and Equal Protection
The Constitution and civil rights laws prohibit learning environments and working conditions that allow, tolerate, or promote race-based stereotypes, a belief in racial inferiority or superiority, or adverse or preferential treatment based on race. Justice John Marshall Harlan said it best in his stinging dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896): “Our constitution is colorblind, and neither knows nor tolerated classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law.” DFI strongly supports the right of students, faculty, and employees to learn and work free from race discrimination in their schools, higher education institutions, and workplaces.
Free Speech
Free speech is the basis of a free society and, in the words of one university president, “the basis of a true education.” In too many cases, however, state-supported postsecondary institutions have failed to honor the First Amendment, and private institutions have violated their own institutional policies and customs regarding campus freedom of speech. DFI resolutely supports campus free speech and seeks to hold public institutions accountable for violations of the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment, as well as private institutions that fail to comply with institutional policies governing free speech on campus.
Religious Liberty
DFI defends the right of faith-based schools to pursue their religious missions without interference from federal agencies, accreditors, state licensing authorities, and others. We vigorously support religious liberty and hold state-supported educational institutions of higher education accountable for violations of the First Amendment.