A leading teachers’ union says the Trump administration’s deadline to drive DEI from K12 could stifle creativity and critical thinking and prevent schools from accurately teaching about slavery and racism.
The American Federation of Teachers, its Maryland chapter and the American Sociological Association filed a lawsuit this week challenging the Department of Education’s controversial Dear Colleague Letter that gave schools two weeks to eliminate DEI from hiring, compensation, discipline and other operations.
“This vague and clearly unconstitutional memo is a grave attack on students, our profession and knowledge itself,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “Federal statute already prohibits any president from telling schools and colleges what to teach. And students have the right to learn without the threat of culture wars waged by extremist politicians hanging over their heads.”
More from DA: This is what a smaller Education Department might look like
Failing to follow the Feb. 14 directive could put districts’ federal funding at risk, the letter warned.
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor wrote in the letter that DEI programs are discriminatory, and allow K12 schools to use race as a basis for decisions—a practice outlawed by the Supreme Court’s Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard ruling that prohibited the use of affirmative action in college admissions.
The AFT and its allies are asking a judge to declare the DEI letter unconstitutional and issue an injunction against the two-week deadline, which would fall on Feb. 28.
“Trump’s Department of Education is undermining the freedom of every student in Maryland and across the country to learn honest history, stoking more fear and division in the classroom,” AFT-Maryland President Kenya Campbell noted. “In a country where there should be no barriers to education, this broad-reaching and unlawful attack threatens the functionality of our public schools.”
