WASHINGTON –Β As a condition for receiving federal money, the Trump administration is ordering K-12 schoolsΒ to certifyΒ that they are following federal civil rights laws and eliminatingΒ diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
A notice sent Thursday by the Education Department gives states and schools 10 days to sign and return the certification. Itβs the latest escalation againstΒ DEI policies, apparently giving the Republican administration a new lever for terminating federal money.
βFederal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,β Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement. He said many schools have flouted their legal obligations, βincluding by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another.β
The certification asks state and school leaders to sign a βreminder of legal obligationsβ 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.
βThe use of certain DEI practices can violate federal law,β the administration wrote in the certification, adding that it is illegal for programs to advantage one race over another.
Schools and states that use illegal DEI practices can face a loss of federal money, including grants and contracts, and can be held liable under the False Claims Act, according to the certification. It specifically threatens Title I funding, which sends billions of dollars a year to Americaβs schools and targets low-income areas.
The department ordered state education offices to sign the certification and collect certifications from school systems.
It follows aΒ Feb. 14 memoΒ declaring that any school policy that treats students or staff differently because of their race is illegal. It aimed to fight what the memo described as widespread discrimination in education, often against white and Asian American students.
