A district-led parent group called "Voices of Color Committee" and a teacher training that instructs the U.S. was founded on white supremacy are among a Colorado school district's initiatives the U.S. Department of Education is investigating as "rampant racially-discriminatory programming."
The goal of the committee, which is also composed of teachers, administrators and community members according to the district website, "is to foster an inclusive and safe environment to support the success of students of color." The training under investigation is titled "Transformational Equity Experience: To Be Seen. To Belong. To Be Whole.”
The department's Office for Civil Rights launched the new probe Monday into Cherry Creek School District over those and other programs in the suburban Denver district. OCR said it is also investigating allegations that the district sponsors clubs that exclude students based on race, restricts some teacher training programs by race, considers race in class assignments, and provides academic support based on race.
“These allegations of racially discriminatory conduct in this District seem to permeate almost every aspect of the school community, affecting students, teachers, and parents alike,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey in a June 8 statement.
“Federal law prohibits racial discrimination, which means that race cannot be a factor in how the school educates its students or trains its teachers," Richey said. "Despite this, the District seems to be basing decisions about how to support students, teachers and parents solely on race."
The investigations were launched under Title VI, which prevents discrimination in federally funded programs based on race, ethnicity and national origin, and has historically been invoked to protect marginalized students. The Trump administration invoked the same civil rights law in April 2025 to open an investigation into Chicago Public Schools over a 2023-24 initiative that provided remedial measures for Black students under its “Black Students Success Plan."
What counts as 'discriminatory' DEI?
These OCR investigations give a clearer picture about what kinds of programs the administration might target as race-based discrimination. The probes follow a flurry of executive orders, proposals and Education Department warnings for educators to steer clear of diversity, equity and inclusion measures or face federal funding withholdings. Meanwhile, educators, public education and civil rights advocates and industry leaders have raised concerns that such directives and warnings were vague and could lead to classroom censorship.
The department is moving forward with its policy interpretation that Title VI prohibits certain race-based initiatives despite the court blocks on a 2025 Dear Colleague letter containing its interpretation. The letter, which the Education Department ultimately decided not to fight for after being challenged in court, said DEI programs "stigmatize students who belong to particular racial groups based on crude racial stereotypes."
Despite the setback on the letter, the department said it would still press forward with its anti-DEI interpretation of Title VI.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice also released sweeping guidance that was expected to impact school district hiring and training practices, as well as programming available to students.
The guidance said districts could be exposed to legal liability by:
- Asking job applicants how their “cultural background informs their teaching.”
- Providing teacher training that “all white people are inherently privileged” or training on “toxic masculinity."
- Providing areas, such as lounges, that are primarily meant to provide “safe spaces” for traditionally underserved groups.
- Using demographically driven criteria “to increase participation by specific racial or sex-based groups” in programs and opportunities.
- Asking employees, including teachers, during training sessions to “confess” to personal biases or privileges based on a protected characteristic.
- Using recruitment strategies targeting candidates from specific geographic areas or racial backgrounds.
- Asking job candidates to describe how they overcame obstacles "as a proxy" for protected characteristics like race.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department joined a race discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of White students against Los Angeles Unified School District over its integration plan. The plan allows schools with resident area populations that are 70% or more Hispanic, Black, Asian or other non-Anglo to get funding to support class size reductions and requires them to hold two parent-teacher conferences during the school year.
The lawsuit said those elements discriminate against White students. The Justice Department, in joining the lawsuit, saying the school system is “operating a system of racial spoils” and that its desegregation program has “outlived its usefulness to the point of being unconstitutional.”
