Education Department Tells States to End DEI in Schools or Risk Federal Funding

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The state education departments are given 14 days to ensure compliance.

The U.S. Department of Education is warning state education departments they have 14 days to cease their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts or risk losing federal funding.

The warning was issued in a Feb. 14 โ€œDear Colleagueโ€ letter sent to the departments of education in all 50 states, according to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The letter, penned by Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights within the Education Department, condemns what it describes as โ€œovert and covert racial discriminationโ€ in K-12 schools and universities, particularly under the banner of DEI policies over the past four years.

It specifically criticizes practices such as discriminating against white and Asian students, promoting ideas including that the United States was built on systemic racism, and encouraging segregation by race at graduation ceremonies and in student housing. Such practices, the letter states, will no longer be tolerated.

โ€œThe law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent,โ€ Trainor wrote.

While emphasizing the obligations under Title VI, the federal law prohibiting discrimination based on race for institutions that receive federal dollars, the letter also points to the U.S. Supreme Court case in which Harvard University was sued for its use of racial preferences in admissions.

The landmark 2023 decision, which declared it unconstitutional for public and private colleges to consider an applicantโ€™s race in admissions, โ€œsets forth a frameworkโ€ and should applies more broadly, the letter stated.

โ€œAt its core, the test is simple: If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that personโ€™s race, the educational institution violates the law,โ€ it read.

The department warned that schools failing to comply with its policies could jeopardize their federal funding. It further stated that enforcement actions are imminent, pledging to โ€œvigorously enforce the lawโ€ and initiate compliance evaluations โ€œwithin 14 days.โ€

โ€œAll students are entitled to a school environment free from discrimination. The Department is committed to ensuring those principles are a reality,โ€ the letter concluded.

Byย Bill Pan

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