The Trump administration is requiring K–12 schools to certify that they are following federal civil rights laws and ending any discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, as a condition for receiving federal money.
A notice sent by the Education Department gives states and schools ten days to sign and return the certification. It’s the latest escalation against DEI policies, apparently giving the Republican administration a new lever for terminating federal money.
The US Department of Education sent letters to state commissioners overseeing K–12 state education agencies (SEAs) requiring them to certify their compliance with their anti-discrimination obligations in order to continue receiving federal financial assistance. Specifically, the department requests certification of compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the responsibilities outlined in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
“Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right. When state education commissioners accept federal funds, they agree to abide by federal anti-discrimination requirements. Unfortunately, we have seen too many schools flout or outright violate these obligations, including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another based on identity characteristics in clear violation of Title VI,” said acting assistant secretary for civil rights Craig Trainor. “Today, the department is taking an important step toward ensuring that states understand— and comply with—their existing obligations under civil rights laws and Students v. Harvard. As Chief Justice Roberts wrote, ‘Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.’ No student should be denied opportunities or treated differently because of his or her race. We hope all state and local education agencies agree and certify their compliance with this legal and constitutional principle.”
SEAs will be responsible for reporting on their states overall and for collecting certification responses from their local education agencies (LEAs). SEAs have ten days to sign and return the certification.
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response: “In the middle of a school year, the president is trying to bully the very same school districts that he insisted, just a few weeks ago, should be in charge of education. He’s wielding a cudgel of billions in federal aid to tens of millions of children, of all races and ethnicities, to force educators to kowtow to his politics and ideology.
“If a school’s reading specialist is using a book the president doesn’t like, is the federal government going to deny the district funding for after-school care? If a school is celebrating Jewish Heritage Month or Juneteenth, does it lose tutoring support? If an educator is teaching about Jim Crow, is summer school now in jeopardy?
“The president’s approach is rich in irony. On the one hand, the administration wants to abolish the Education Department and dismantle its role in schools, and on the other, it wants to dictate curriculum in minute detail and act as a de facto HR director.
“This is a power grab and a money grab—and it’s also blatantly unlawful. We know the administration wants to divert federal education funds into block grants, vouchers, or tax cuts, but it’s simply not legal; only Congress can do that. Further, federal statute explicitly prohibits any president from telling schools and colleges what to teach, and funds cannot be withheld on the basis of Title VI Civil Rights Act claims without due process.
“The authority cited in the memo, SFFA v. Harvard, was about higher education, not K–12 schools. It’s why we sued the administration over its previous ‘Dear Colleague’ letter, and why this memo just reinforces our concern that political ideology, not kids’ learning, is their priority.
“The president should be strengthening public education, not destroying it. He should be helping the most vulnerable kids, not hurting them. This destructive gambit just hurts children. It strips them of instruction in the middle of their school year. It’s callous, cruel, counterproductive, and simply won’t stand, in both the classroom, the court of law, and the court of public opinion.”