Judge Rules Against DOE’s Anti-DEI Guidance In Universities
Federal Judge Rules Against DOE’s Anti-DEI Guidance In Universities
The Trump administration’s war against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in universities is facing a legal setback after a federal judge ruled against two of the actions by the Department of Education (DOE).
AP News reports U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher ruled that memos issued by the DOE threatening to withhold federal funding from schools with DEI initiatives were illegal. The lawsuit was filed by the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association in February after the DOE sent a “Dear Colleague” letter threatening to withhold funds if a school considers race in any program or activity. The DOE sent another memo in April demanding that state universities certify they aren’t engaging in “illegal DEI practices.”
The American Federation of Teachers argued the memos forced educators to “choose between chilling their constitutionally protected speech and association or risk losing federal funds and being subject to prosecution.”
While the DOE argued the memos were meant only as a reminder that discrimination is illegal, Gallagher rejected that notion in her ruling, writing that the memos “initiated a sea change in how the Department of Education regulates educational practices and classroom conduct, causing millions of educators to reasonably fear that their lawful, and even beneficial, speech might cause them or their schools to be punished.”
Democracy Forward represented the American Federation of Teachers and issued a statement celebrating the ruling. “Threatening teachers and sowing chaos in schools throughout America is part of the administration’s war on education, and today the people won,” Skye Perryman, the group’s president and CEO, wrote.
The DOE issued a statement on Thursday expressing disappointment with the ruling, but reiterated that “judicial action enjoining or setting aside this guidance has not stopped our ability to enforce Title VI protections for students at an unprecedented level.” Mind you, Title VI provides protections for Black, brown, and traditionally marginalized groups as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
So basically, the Trump administration has weaponized the Civil Rights Act to argue that white people are the real victims. Love that for us.
Upon taking office, President Donald Trump wasted no time signing several executive orders banning DEI in the federal government and any organization that receives federal funding. Many of those anti-DEI efforts have been the subject of lawsuits. A federal judge blocked parts of an executive order withholding grants for nonprofits that engage in DEI, as he found it effectively stopped nonprofits aimed at providing sexual health services for the LGBTQ community from doing their job.
I’m incredibly curious what this ruling means for the DOE’s war on DEI going forward. The DOE invested an absurd amount of resources in cracking down on DEI in schools. They’ve launched investigations into 45 schools over their DEI initiatives, created a “Civil Rights Fraud Initiative,” and even withheld funding from schools that had preemptively ended their DEI initiatives.
The DOE’s anti-DEI push has also resulted in countless people losing their jobs, either through resignation, firings, or the outright closure of DEI departments at several universities. While the ruling is a win for DEI initiatives, much damage has already been done with DEI rollbacks at universities. Given how quickly we’ve seen corporations, brands, and schools capitulate to the Trump administration, I’m sad to say I don’t think this ruling is going to change much going forward.
SEE ALSO:
UnderstandingThe Education Department’s Civil Rights Cuts
Federal Employees Placed On Leave For DEI Training
Federal Judge Rules Against DOE’s Anti-DEI Guidance In Universities was originally published on newsone.com
