On Thursday, the agency sent letters to state commissioners overseeing K-12 State Education Agencies giving them 10 days to send confirmation of compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bars schools that receive federal funds from discrimination based on race and sex. Schools must also comply with Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, a 2023 Supreme Court decision dealing with affirmative action that prohibited racial preferences in college admissions and ruled that students must be treated as individuals.
The government must receive confirmation from states that targeted academic programs, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, are no longer running in order for schools to continue receiving federal funding, according to the Education Department.
“These certifications are being sent out pursuant to the Department of Education’s authority and responsibility to ensure that recipients of federal funding are complying with United States civil rights law,” a press release said.
“Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right. When state education commissioners accept federal funds, they agree to abide by federal antidiscrimination 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,” acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor added.
The Education Department’s action follows a series of executive orders from President Donald Trump arguing DEI programs violate federal law and targeting such initiatives for removal.
Hours after Trump took office in January, he signed an order oriented around civil rights that directed the Education Department to prepare guidance within 120 days that identified “the measures and practices required to comply” with the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard University case.
“Institutions of higher education have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ … that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation,” the order reads. “Hardworking Americans who deserve a shot at the American Dream should not be stigmatized, demeaned, or shut out of opportunities because of their race or sex.”
After Trump issued the executive order, the Office for Civil Rights, a sub-agency of the Education Department, issued a “Dear College” letter to educational institutions receiving federal funds, notifying them that they “must cease using race preferences and stereotypes as a factor in their admissions, hiring, promotion, scholarship, prizes, administrative support, sanctions, discipline, and other programs and activities.”
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On March 20, the president signed another executive order reiterating that the Education Department ensure no federal funds are being funneled toward educational DEI programs.
“The Secretary of Education shall ensure that the allocation of any Federal Department of Education funds is subject to rigorous compliance with Federal law and Administration policy, including the requirement that any program or activity receiving Federal assistance terminate illegal discrimination obscured under the label ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ or similar terms and programs promoting gender ideology,” the order reads.
