WASHINGTON (CITC) — The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter Friday warning public schools to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies or risk federal funding.
The letter was penned by Craig Trainor, the department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights. Trainor explained he wanted to both clarify and reaffirm the “nondiscrimination obligations” of educational institutions, noting “discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is illegal and morally reprehensible.”
“In recent years, American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families,” the letter reads. “These institutions’ embrace of pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and other forms of racial discrimination have emanated throughout every facet of academia.”
Trainor alleged schools have “toxically indoctrinated students” with a “false premise” that the U.S. is built on “systemic and structural racism.” He claimed supporters of DEI practices have used the DEI label to bring “racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness” into school programs, trainings and disciplinary methods.
The acting assistant secretary also said DEI programs “frequently preference certain racial groups” and “stigmatize students who belong to particular racial groups based on crude racial stereotypes.”
Although some programs may appear neutral on their face, a closer look reveals that they are, in fact, motivated by racial considerations,” the letter continues. “And race-based decision-making, no matter the form, remains impermissible.”
Trainor in his argument pointed to the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which ended affirmative action in higher education. He claimed while the decision focused on admissions, it “applies more broadly” and asserts “educational institutions may neither separate or segregate students based on race, nor distribute benefits or burdens based on race.”
“Federal law thus prohibits covered entities from using race in decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life,” Trainor wrote.
The letter advises educational institutions to ensure by Feb. 28 their policies and actions comply with federal civil rights law. Schools are also encouraged to “cease all efforts to circumvent prohibitions on the use of race by relying on proxies or other indirect means to accomplish such ends” and “cease all reliance on third-party contractors, clearinghouses, or aggregators that are being used by institutions in an effort to circumvent prohibited uses of race.”
Any schools deemed to be violating federal civil rights law risk losing federal funding, according to the letter.
The directive from the Department of Education comes as the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues to announce DEI-related cuts by the agency. DOGE said in an X post Friday the Department of Education had terminated 70 “DEI training grants,” worth a combined total of $373 million.
Just days prior, DOGE had also shared via X the elimination of 29 “DEI training grants” at the Department of Education, valued at a total of $101 million.
President Donald Trump late last month signed an executive order aimed at “ending radical indoctrination” in K-12 schools. The order stated the Trump administration would ensure schools receiving federal funding “comply with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination in various contexts and protecting parental rights.”
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