New York will not comply with an order from the Trump administration to certify that school districts are eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, a state Education Department official said in a Friday letter obtained by Chalkbeat.
Federal officials argued Thursday that any school DEI program used to “advantage one’s race over another” violates federal Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
“We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems diversity, equity & inclusion. ... But there are no federal or state laws prohibiting the principles of DEI,” wrote State Counsel and Deputy Commissioner Daniel Morton-Bentley, according to Chalkbeat. “And USDOE has yet to define what practices it believes violate Title VI.”
The state will not send any “further certification” of compliance with federal law, the letter concluded.
The letter represents an early and forceful pushback to the threat that gave state education agencies 10 days to guarantee that no public schools in their states have DEI programs the Trump administration deems illegal — or lose billions of dollars in federal education funding, the news organization said.
Earlier on Friday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city was planning to sue the federal government if it withheld funds because of the order, calling it an “unconstitutional” attack on free speech.
