The U.S. Department of Education eliminated a long-used civil-rights enforcement tool tied to disparate-impact liability, ending a regulatory pathway used to show unintentional discrimination in higher education and K-12 settings. The change removes a mechanism for proving statistically evidenced harm even without intentional bias, as described by multiple civil rights advocates. The rescission arrives while the administration continues pursuing discrimination cases that fit its broader enforcement posture, according to the reporting. The move has drawn accusations that the Department is removing “guardrails” for students of color. For colleges and universities, the immediate impact is compliance risk management: institutions that had relied on disparate-impact analyses for discipline, course access, and other policies may face uncertainty about what evidentiary standards will apply going forward.