AP – McDonald’s said it is changing – but not eliminating – a scholarship programme for Latino students after it was sued by a group that opposes affirmative action.
McDonald’s HACER National Scholarship Programme, which was founded in 1985, awards college scholarships to students with at least one Latino parent. The programme has awarded more than USD33 million in scholarships to more than 17,000 students.
On January 12, the American Alliance for Equal Rights sued McDonald’s over the HACER programme. The alliance, which challenges programmes that use race or ethnicity as a factor in their decisions, is run by Edward Blum, the conservative activist who also successfully challenged affirmative action programmes in college admissions.
On Friday, McDonald’s said it reached a settlement with the American Alliance for Equal Rights that will allow it to consider this year’s applicants. The Chicago company said more than 3,000 students have already applied for this year’s scholarships.
McDonald’s said the programme will now be open to any student who can demonstrate an impact on or commitment to the Latino community. Applicants no longer need to have at least one Latino parent.
McDonald’s said it will extend the deadline for this year’s scholarships from February 6 to March 6 to accommodate any new applicants. Blum applauded the settlement on Friday.
“McDonald’s has wisely agreed to end this discriminatory scholarship programme,” Blum said. “It is a shame that over many years thousands of students were shut out of this programme because they were not the preferred ethnicity.”
McDonald’s is one of many companies that have halted some diversity efforts in the wake of the 2023 United States (US) Supreme Court ruling that banned race as a factor in college admissions.
Earlier in January, McDonald’s said it would retire specific goals for achieving diversity at senior leadership levels. It also ended a programme that encouraged its suppliers to develop diversity training and to increase the number of minority group members represented within their own leadership ranks.
