Education Department Tells States to End DEI in Schools or Risk Federal Funding

A U.S. flag hangs in a classroom as students work on laptops in Newlon Elementary School in Denver, in a file photo. David Zalubowski/AP Photo

The U.S. Department of Education is warning state education departments that they have 14 days to cease their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs or risk losing federal funding.

The warning was issued in a Feb. 14 “Dear Colleague” letter sent to the departments of education in all 50 states, according to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The letter, penned by Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights within the Department of Education, condemns what it describes as “overt and covert racial discrimination” in K–12 schools and universities, particularly under the banner of DEI policies over the past four years.

It specifically criticizes practices such as discriminating against white and Asian students, promoting the “false premise that the United States is built upon ’systemic and structural racism,'” and encouraging segregation by race at graduation ceremonies and in student housing. Such practices, the letter states, will no longer be tolerated.

“The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent,” Trainor wrote.

While emphasizing the obligations under Title VI, the federal law prohibiting discrimination based on race for institutions that receive federal dollars, the letter also points to the U.S. Supreme Court case in which Harvard University was sued for its use of racial preferences in admissions.

The landmark 2023 decision, which declared it unconstitutional for public and private colleges to consider an applicant’s race in admissions, “sets forth a framework” and should be applied more broadly, the letter states.

“At its core, the test is simple: If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that person’s race, the educational institution violates the law,” it reads.

The department warned that schools failing to comply with its policies could jeopardize their federal funding. It further stated that enforcement actions are imminent, pledging to “vigorously enforce the law” and initiate compliance evaluations “within 14 days.”

“All students are entitled to a school environment free from discrimination. The Department is committed to ensuring those principles are a reality,” the letter concludes.

The warning follows President Donald Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to eliminate funding for “illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K–12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.” An earlier order has already abolished DEI offices and initiatives across the federal workforce.

In alignment with the president’s orders, the Department of Education has removed all DEI references from documents and official webpages, dissolved its Diversity & Inclusion Council, and placed employees charged with leading DEI initiatives on leave.

The same day that the letter was sent, the DOGE shared on social media platform X that the Education Department had terminated 70 DEI training grants as part of the Trump administration’s broader campaign to eliminate wasteful government spending.