ACLU urges Brown University to reject and forcefully resist Trump deal

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is urging Brown University to reject President Donald Trump’s new higher education plan, warning that signing it would amount to endorsing political censorship and government overreach on campus.

In a letter sent Friday to Brown President Christina Paxson, the ACLU of Rhode Island condemned the administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” a federal initiative offering universities preferential access to funding if they agree to a series of sweeping reforms.

The Trump administration’s compact was unveiled last week, outlining ten requirements that institutions must meet to qualify for the program. The plan calls for eliminating race and sex preferences in admissions and hiring, reinstating standardized testing, capping international student enrollment, and abolishing departments accused of promoting hostility toward conservative views.

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Schools that sign on would receive “substantial” federal grants, invitations to White House events, and direct access to administration officials. Brown was among the first nine universities approached with the administration’s deal.

The ACLU, however, said the plan represents a direct attack on academic freedom. 

In its letter, the group accused the administration of weaponizing federal funding to force universities into compliance and undermine higher education.

“Among other things, agreeing to this compact would restrict university employees from speaking out on political issues, limit the enrollment of foreign students, and once again require the university to essentially deny the existence of transgender students,” the letter said, adding that the compact’s restrictions “prohibit anything that would ‘belittle’” conservative ideas. 

ACLU of Rhode Island Executive Director Steven Brown also criticized Brown University’s earlier settlement with the federal government, which restored its frozen research funding in July but required new civil rights and compliance measures.

“We believe that your university’s previous capitulation has simply empowered and emboldened the Trump administration to demand more,” Brown wrote. 

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The letter urged Brown University to “not only resist these and any further unconstitutional demands from this administration, but to forcefully and publicly reject them and urge your colleagues to do the same.”

The letter follows other backlash to Trump’s education initiative. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that any university in his state that signs the compact will “instantly” lose state funding, calling the proposal “radical” and a “hostile takeover” of higher education.

The Trump administration has defended the plan as voluntary, saying it will restore fairness, accountability, and academic integrity to higher education. But with universities caught between federal incentives and public opposition, the decision to sign or resist the compact could define the next national battle over free speech and education policy.