Federal Lawsuit Seeks Admissions Data by Gender at U.S. Service Academies

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense on behalf of the Service Women’s Action Network. The suit charges that the nation’s service academies are not doing enough to recruit women to these schools and therefore the percentage of women in officer ranks will be very low well into the future. Furthermore, the suit charges that the low numbers of women at the service academies fuels a culture where sexual assault and harassment may occur.

The lawsuit seeks data on the recruitment practices of the service academies. Among the information that the plaintiffs want are SAT scores and acceptance rates by gender. The suit was filed after the groups failed to receive the information they sought under Freedom of Information Act Requests.