The Justice Department announced it will stop investigating claims based on disparate‑impact theory under Title VI, removing a decades‑old tool that allowed plaintiffs to challenge race‑ or sex‑neutral policies producing unequal outcomes. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the move restores a requirement to prove intentional discrimination. Civil‑rights groups and higher‑ed advocates warned the change narrows how students, faculty and staff can bring systemic discrimination claims against colleges and universities. Disparate‑impact is a legal doctrine that permits challenges when policies have a disproportionate adverse effect on protected groups even absent explicit intent; removing it shifts burden toward proving discriminatory intent and may limit administrative investigations.