Amid public defiance by education leaders to disregard the Trump Administration’s anti-DEI policy, three separate judges—two of whom are Trump appointees—delivered a heavy legal blow to the Department of Education.
The following article is a part of University Business’ ongoing coverage of President Donald J. Trump’s impact on higher education during his second term in office. Click here for the latest updates.
In a Dear Colleague Letter administered to schools in February, the Education Department clarified that “under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal.” Schools were also given until April 24 to report their compliance with Title VI or risk losing federal funding.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty wrote in favor of the National Education Association and two other groups that argued that the Trump administration’s policy represents “textbook viewpoint discrimination,” possibly violating free speech per the First Amendment.
“Plaintiffs’ members are presently suffering First Amendment violations as a result of defendants’ coercion of educational institutions into censoring their members’ speech,” she wrote. “Many more of plaintiffs’ members have self-censored to protect their livelihoods.”
She, along with Trump appointee U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, argued that the Dear Colleague Letter was “vague and confusing.” Friedrich also said that the letter failed to “delineate between a lawful DEI practice and an unlawful one,” resulting in difficulties in reviewing compliance, according to CNN.
The third ruling comes from Trump appointee Judge Stephanie Gallagher from Baltimore. Gallagher argues that the agency failed to adhere to the proper processes to adopt such a policy according to the Department of Education Organization Act of 1979.
“This court takes no view as to whether the policies at issue here are good or bad, prudent or foolish, fair or unfair,” she said in her ruling, according to CNN. “But this Court is constitutionally required to closely scrutinize whether the government went about creating and implementing them in the manner the law requires. The government did not.”
Backlash continues
The rulings come shortly after a handful of states promised to protect their schools’ DEI policies and procedures. While Thursday was the deadline for schools to comply with the order, some Arizona school districts have voted to defy the order, according to AZFamily.
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said a list of districts that have not complied will be posted on the state Department of Education website within the next week.
As for higher education, the National Institute of Health recently announced it is requiring colleges and other grant recipients to certify their termination of DEI programs and that they aren’t boycotting Israel in order to receive new awards.
The Trump Administration has also targeted colleges for their handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations. In a joint statement, more than 150 leaders, including college presidents and chancellors, spoke up against the President’s efforts to cancel federal funding for higher education institutions.
“The price of abridging the defining freedoms will be paid by our students and our society,” according to the statement from AAC&U. “On behalf of our current and future students, and all who work at and benefit from our institutions, we call for constructive engagement that improves our institutions and serves our republic.”
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