New York state officials have told the Trump administration that they will not comply with its demands to end diversity, equity and inclusion practices in public schools, despite the administration’s threats to terminate federal education funding.
Daniel Morton-Bentley, counsel and deputy commissioner of the state Department of Education, said in a letter dated Friday to the federal Education Department that state officials do not believe the federal agency has the authority to make such demands.
“We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems ‘diversity, equity & inclusion,’” he wrote. “But there are no federal or State laws prohibiting the principles of DEI.”
Morton-Bentley also wrote state officials were “unaware” of any authority the federal Department of Education has to demand that states agree with its interpretation of court decisions or to terminate funding without a formal administrative process.
The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
The Trump administration on Thursday ordered K-12 schools nationwide to certify within 10 days that they are following federal civil rights laws and ending any discriminatory DEI practices, as a condition for receiving federal money. Federal funding comprises about 6% of the total funding for New York K-12 schools.
“Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement when the demand was made. He said many schools have flouted their legal obligations, “including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another.”
The certification demand asked state and school leaders to sign a “reminder of legal obligations” acknowledging their federal money is conditioned on compliance with federal civil rights laws. It also demands compliance with several pages of legal analysis written by the administration.
The demand specifically threatens Title I funding, which sends billions of dollars a year to America’s schools and targets low-income areas.
Morton-Bentley wrote that the state Education Department has already certified to the federal government on multiple occasions that it is complying with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, most recently in January. He said the federal department is basing its demands to end DEI programs on a faulty legal interpretation.
“Given the fact that you are already in possession of guarantees by NYSED that it has and will comply with Title VI, no further certification will be forthcoming,” he wrote.
He also said the administration’s stance is an “abrupt shift” from the one taken by the first Trump administration, citing comments in 2020 made by then-U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that diversity and inclusion were “cornerstones of high organizational performance.” He wrote the administration has provided no explanation of why it changed positions.
Critics of the certification demand said it conflicted with Trump’s promise to return education to schools and states.
The threat of financial sanctions is similar to ones the Trump administration has been leveraging against colleges in its effort to crack down on protests against Israel that it deems antisemitic.
New York state has similarly refused to comply with a demand by the Trump administration to shut down a program to fund mass transit in New York City with high tolls on cars that drive into Manhattan.