The judge ruled that the Department of Education’s requirements were vague and gave no examples of DEI practices that violated civil rights laws.
Hours before the deadline for states to certify that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs have ended in public schools, a federal court halted the Trump administration’s requirement, siding with the National Education Association teachers’ union.
The U.S. District Court in New Hampshire granted the preliminary injunction on Thursday ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline that state education departments were given to provide signed statements affirming that their districts have canceled DEI practices such as diversity training, preferential hiring by race and gender, and classroom instruction promoting ideologies such as critical race theory.
The Department of Education told its state counterparts to review policies and practices across all school districts and certify compliance with Title VI, which prohibits agencies that receive federal money from discriminatory practices by race or national origin. The national teachers’ union, with guidance from the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit asking a court to overturn that action last month.
The initial “Dear Colleague” letters were sent to states in February, and the certification deadline was extended to April 24.
“When schools agree to receive federal funding, they are legally obligated to comply with federal antidiscrimination laws, which have been the law of the land for years,” Julie Hartman, Department of Education spokeswoman, said in an April 24 email to The Epoch Times before the federal injunction was announced.
“The department is evaluating next steps for those who do not comply with this basic responsibility.”
Judge Landya McCafferty ruled that the Department of Education’s letter outlining the certification requirements was vague and did not provide examples of DEI practices that violated civil rights laws.
“An elementary school teacher could seek to establish a class culture of equitable and inclusive treatment by asking her students sign a collective pledge to follow the “Golden Rule” for the entire school year. It is more than arguable that such a practice would come within the ocean-wide definition of DEI set forth above,” she wrote.
“The government cannot simply tell people to ‘be good’ and leave it up to the enforcers to decide what ‘good’ is.”
