Chalkbeat - New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 14 other attorneys general issued new guidance to K-12 schools and higher education institutions Wednesday in a bid to counter efforts by the federal government to eliminate education policies promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The guidance followed threats from the U.S. Department of Education in a Feb. 14 “Dear Colleague” letter to withhold federal funding from schools that engage in a wide range of practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI....
“The administration cannot ban diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts with a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter,” James said in a statement. “Schools and educational institutions can rest assured that they are well within their legal rights to continue building inclusive learning environments for their students.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has repeatedly attacked DEI practices in and out of schools — with Trump blaming without any evidence such programs for a fatal plane crash earlier this year. The federal Education Department’s Dear Colleague letter, citing a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that banned race-conscious admissions policies in higher education, gave schools until the end of the month to end all practices related to DEI or risk losing federal funding.
The letter created shockwaves in school districts across the country. In New York City, for instance, a previously scheduled City Council hearing on segregation in public schools was indefinitely postponed because of it.
Last week, the federal Education Department released an FAQ responding to questions raised by the Dear Colleague letter. Though it struck a softer tone, the FAQ warned school districts that a wide range of common practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion could be illegal — adding that cases would be decided based on the facts on the ground. Federal officials may also investigate schools for “discriminatory intent,” according to the FAQ.
The Dear Colleague letter has already faced multiple lawsuits from educators and civil rights groups, who have argued the letter is overly broad and fails to justify its interpretation of the law.
James and the other attorneys general assured schools that efforts to seek and support diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible educational experiences “cannot be rendered illegal by an executive order or a letter from DOE — neither of which can make or change the law.”
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