The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) secured another significant victory for true equality in a new ruling from the Wisconsin Court of Appeals against the Evers Administration, which runs a racially discriminatory scholarship program called the “Minority Undergraduate Retention Program.” Most Wisconsin students are excluded from the program because of their race.
In 2021, WILL sued over the program, which violates federal law and the Wisconsin Constitution. WILL represents five Wisconsin taxpayers who object to the state administering this race-based scholarship program, including Kiki Rabiebna and Richard Freihoefer, whose son is ineligible for a scholarship because of his race. The program discriminates against whites, many Asians, many Latinos, and every student whose ancestors are from North Africa or the Middle East.
The Quotes: WILL Deputy Counsel, Dan Lennington, stated, “The appellate judges agreed with WILL that the state of Wisconsin can offer aid based on need, income level, or personal hardships—but not race. Their comprehensive decision marks a turning point in the fight for true equality for both our state and country.”
“We need to stop discrimination everywhere,” said Richard Freihoefer, a WILL client. “Too often, taxpayers are unknowingly funding inefficient, wasteful, and illegal efforts by their own government. Today’s ruling ends one significant example.”
“I am grateful to WILL for their incredibly impactful role in this fight,” remarked Kiki Rabiebna, a WILL client.
In the unanimous opinion from the Court of Appeals, Judge Gundrum wrote: “Because the grant program violates the Equal Protection Clause, we reverse the order of the circuit court and remand for the court to enter an order enjoining HEAB and Hutchinson from further administering the grant program or distributing funds thereunder… WISCONSIN STAT. § 39.44 and the related grant program are unconstitutional on their face. In so holding, we adhere to the refocusing of the Equal Protection Clause by the SFFA Court for the realization of the promise, ideal and hope of equal protection.”
Additional Background: The Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board administers the Minority Undergraduate Retention Program, a taxpayer-funded scholarship available to certain minority undergraduates enrolled in private, nonprofit higher educational institutions or in technical colleges in Wisconsin.
The minority undergraduates eligible for the taxpayer-funded program, according to state law, are: Black American, American Indian, Hispanic, and those specifically from Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia who immigrated after 1975. These narrow racial and national origin criteria mean other students—Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, North African, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, resident aliens from Africa, or whites, for example—are ineligible to receive a scholarship.
The eligibility categories in the Minority Undergraduate Retention Program amount to discrimination based on race, national origin, and alienage, a practice clearly forbidden by federal law and the Wisconsin Constitution.
About WILL’s Equality Under the Law Project: Launched in 2021, WILL’s efforts target various programs within Biden’s Racial Equity Agenda. WILL beat President Biden several times in court, representing over 80 clients from 25 states. With a new Trump Administration committed to upholding the constitutional guarantee of equality, WILL’s focus will shift to ensuring that the new administration abides by its promises and the rule of law, and to targeting race-based DEI in other areas of American life, such as higher education, K-12 education, healthcare, and finance.
Learn more about WILL’s Equality Under the Law Project at DefendEquality.org.
Read more:
- Court of Appeals Decision, February 2025
