The U.S. Department of Education will continue to target diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools under Title VI despite a court block on its controversial anti-DEI Dear Colleague letter.
That letter, issued a year ago, announced the department's policy interpreting Title VI — which protects students from discrimination based on race, ethnicity and national origin — to prohibit DEI programs. It said some schools’ race-based equity programs discriminate against White and Asian students and could result in federal funding loss for districts.
The department cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard — which banned race-conscious college admissions practices — as a reason to pare back other diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in education.
“The Department has full authority under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to target impermissible DEI initiatives that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin," said Julie Hartman, press secretary for legal affairs at the Education Department, in a statement to K-12 Dive last week. "Title VI has always prohibited schools from racial preferencing and stereotyping, and it continues to do so with or without the February 14th Dear Colleague Letter. OCR will continue to vigorously enforce Title VI to protect all students and hold violators accountable.”
The letter caused an uproar among education civil rights experts and education advocacy organizations who said the department's interpretation of Title VI runs counter to its purpose, which is to ensure equitable education access for all students. Ultimately, the letter was challenged in court through at least three lawsuits and blocked.
The department had appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October as part of one such court case in an attempt to continue implementing the policy after it was blocked in the lower courts. However, the department walked back its appeal last month, leaving education civil rights experts wondering about the implications and whether the department would continue to target education institutions for their DEI policies.
Trump administration can use other levers to target DEI
"It's still a meaningful relief in the sense that we have a law on our side, but it's not a magic reset button," Augustus Mays, vice president for partnerships and engagement at EdTrust, said of the court's block on the Dear Colleague letter. EdTrust is a nonprofit that supports educational equity and helping students overcome racial and socioeconomic barriers.
"The administration can still use other levers," however, to enforce Title VI in a way that prohibits DEI, Mays said. That includes continuing to conduct civil rights investigations and putting pressure on school and state leaders to comply with the administration’s interpretation of Title VI, he added.
Kayleigh Baker, an education civil rights attorney with TNG Consulting who works with districts on compliance, said it's possible that the Education Department takes a case-by-case approach to target DEI efforts rather than using the now-blocked policy letter as a blanket ban.
EdTrust is calling on school and district leaders to move forward with programs that focus on student safety, belonging and opportunity, and to use evidence-based culturally responsive practices that have been shown to work, while documenting compliance with Title VI.
"We want them to assess what got cut or paused in response to the fear, not the law — and then move forward on reimplementing those programs," said Mays.
"So avoid quotas," he added. "Don't abandon lawful strategies that help underserved students succeed. So basically, don't govern by rumor — govern by law, by evidence and student needs."
