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Arthur L. Coleman

Arthur L. Coleman

Founding Partner

101 Constitution Avenue, NW
Suite 900
Washington, D.C., 20001
art.coleman@educationcounsel.com

Art Coleman is a Founding Partner of EducationCounsel LLC, where he provides policy, strategic, and legal counseling services to national non-profit organizations, postsecondary institutions,  school districts, and state agencies throughout the country.  As a national leader on issues of student and faculty diversity, equity and inclusion, Mr. Coleman supports national non-profit organizations and higher education...

Art Coleman is a Founding Partner of EducationCounsel LLC, where he provides policy, strategic, and legal counseling services to national non-profit organizations, postsecondary institutions,  school districts, and state agencies throughout the country.  As a national leader on issues of student and faculty diversity, equity and inclusion, Mr. Coleman supports national non-profit organizations and higher education institutions in their efforts to advance DEI aims in legally sustainable ways, with a focus on mission-aligned objectives and principles of innovation.

Mr. Coleman previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, where, in the 1990s, he led the Department's development of the Department's Title VI policy on race-conscious financial aid, as well as OCR's first comprehensive Title IX sexual harassment policy guidance.

Mr. Coleman was instrumental in the establishment of the College Board's Access and Diversity Collaborative (ADC) in 2004, which he has helped lead since its inception. He has authored amicus briefs in major U.S. Supreme Court cases, including: Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger (2003); in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2013 and 2016); and in SFFA v. Harvard and UNC (2023). His advocacy work also includes the development of a federal amicus strategy and numerous briefs on behalf of transgender students who successfully litigated federal court claims throughout the United States.

A former litigator, Mr. Coleman is a 1984 honors graduate of Duke University School of Law and a 1981 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia. He has testified before the U.S. Senate and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He is member of the Board of Directors of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA); and a past chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Higher Education Policy.  He is also a past  member of the Boards of Directors of GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network); and the Lab School of Washington, which serves students with learning differences.

Mr. Coleman is a former adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, where he taught a masters level course on enrollment management law and policy.

Arthur L. Coleman

institutions in their efforts to advance DEI aims in legally sustainable ways, with a focus on mission-aligned objectives and principles of innovation.

Mr. Coleman previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, where, in the 1990s, he led the Department's development of the Department's Title VI policy on race-conscious financial aid, as well as OCR's first comprehensive Title IX sexual harassment policy guidance.

Mr. Coleman was instrumental in the establishment of the College Board's Access and Diversity Collaborative (ADC) in 2004, which he has helped lead since its inception. He has authored amicus briefs in major U.S. Supreme Court cases, including: Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger (2003); in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2013 and 2016); and in SFFA v. Harvard and UNC (2023). His advocacy work also includes the development of a federal amicus strategy and numerous briefs on behalf of transgender students who successfully litigated federal court claims throughout the United States.

A former litigator, Mr. Coleman is a 1984 honors graduate of Duke University School of Law and a 1981 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia. He has testified before the U.S. Senate and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He is member of the Board of Directors of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA); and a past chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Higher Education Policy.  He is also a past  member of the Boards of Directors of GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network); and the Lab School of Washington, which serves students with learning differences.

Mr. Coleman is a former adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, where he taught a masters level course on enrollment management law and policy.

Art Coleman is a Founding Partner of EducationCounsel LLC, where he provides policy, strategic, and legal counseling services to national non-profit organizations, postsecondary institutions,  school districts, and state agencies throughout the country.  As a national leader on issues of student and faculty diversity, equity and inclusion, Mr. Coleman supports national non-profit organizations and higher education... institutions in their efforts to advance DEI aims in legally sustainable ways, with a focus on mission-aligned objectives and principles of innovation.

Mr. Coleman previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, where, in the 1990s, he led the Department's development of the Department's Title VI policy on race-conscious financial aid, as well as OCR's first comprehensive Title IX sexual harassment policy guidance.

Mr. Coleman was instrumental in the establishment of the College Board's Access and Diversity Collaborative (ADC) in 2004, which he has helped lead since its inception. He has authored amicus briefs in major U.S. Supreme Court cases, including: Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger (2003); in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2013 and 2016); and in SFFA v. Harvard and UNC (2023). His advocacy work also includes the development of a federal amicus strategy and numerous briefs on behalf of transgender students who successfully litigated federal court claims throughout the United States.

A former litigator, Mr. Coleman is a 1984 honors graduate of Duke University School of Law and a 1981 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia. He has testified before the U.S. Senate and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He is member of the Board of Directors of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA); and a past chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Higher Education Policy.  He is also a past  member of the Boards of Directors of GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network); and the Lab School of Washington, which serves students with learning differences.

Mr. Coleman is a former adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, where he taught a masters level course on enrollment management law and policy.

Education

  • Duke University School of Law, JD, honors (1984)
  • University of Virginia (1981)
    • Phi Beta Kappa

Admissions

  • District of Columbia
The bar rules of some states require that the standards for an attorney's inclusion in certain public accolades or recognitions be provided. When such accolades or recognitions are listed, a hyperlink is provided that leads to a description of the respective selection methodology.

  • Panel member, NACAC Commission on Redesigning College Admission and Financial Aid Through a Racial Equity Lens
  • Board of Directors, National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements
  • Board of Directors, Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
  • Board of Trustees, The Lab School of Washington
  • Former Chair, Board of Directors, Institute for Higher Education Policy
  • National Association of College and University Attorneys
  • Adjunct professor, University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education teaching enrollment management law and policy
  • Deputy Group Leader, Nelson Mullins' Government Relations Practice Group