Dive Brief:
- Democratic attorneys general from 19 states are pushing back on the U.S. Department of Education’s threat to pull education funding from states and school districts that don’t abandon diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
- In a lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court of the District of Massachusetts, the attorneys general contend that the Education Department is placing “onerous” and “excruciatingly difficult” demands on states with an April directive that requires states and school districts to certify their understanding that using DEI programs to the advantage of one person’s race over another violates Title VI.
- The attorneys general argue in the lawsuit that the Education Department is imperiling nearly $14 billion in funding with a “vague, confusing, and incorrect interpretation” of the statute that doesn’t define the DEI categories it seeks to eliminate and claims are illegally discriminatory.
Dive Insight:
The lawsuit is the latest volley at the Education Department’s anti-DEI measures, which last week suffered blows from federal judges in three separate lawsuits led by the NAACP, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association.
Injunctions issued in those lawsuits impact the certification requirement as well as a preceding Feb. 14 Dear Colleague letter, which was described in one ruling as “unconstitutionally vague.” Both directives were based on the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title VI, part of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 barring discrimination based on race, color or national origin in federally funded programs.
In ruling on the National Education Association’s lawsuit, Judge Landya McCafferty, of U.S. District Court in New Hampshire, wrote that the administration’s threats to withhold funding from school systems that have DEI programs ”raise the specter of a public ‘witch hunt’ that will sow fear and doubt among teachers.”
The 55-page lawsuit filed Friday by the coalition of attorneys general, meanwhile, alleges that the Education Department’s efforts to eliminate federal education funding are based on a “misinterpretation” of Title VI and are in violation of the Spending Clause, the Appropriations Clause, the separation of powers, and the Administrative Procedures Act, according to a statement from the California Office of Attorney General.
“Let me be clear: the federal Department of Education is not trying to ‘combat’ discrimination with this latest order,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in the Friday statement. “Instead it is using our nation’s foundational civil rights law as a pretext to coerce states into abandoning efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion through lawful programs and policies. Once again, the President has exceeded his authority under the Constitution and violated the law.”
The 19 states that sued include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
The Education Department did not respond to a request for comment.
