States' resistance in education

In a letter sent April 3, the administration gave state education chiefs 10 days to sign a certification saying they’re complying with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits race-based discrimination in federally funded programs.

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That same day, three federal judges issued separate rulings that significantly limit the Trump administration’s ability to enforce the orders and withhold federal funding from states and districts that don’t comply.

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[T]he certification makes clear that the U.S. Department of Education considers the use of diversity, equity, and inclusion—which it doesn’t specifically define—to be a potential violation of the anti-discrimination law. It argues that the act of treating people differently based on their race, or programs that “advantage one’s race over another,” constitute an “illegal DEI practice,” citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to overturn the legality of affirmative action policies that allowed universities to consider race as a factor in college admissions decisions.

The department initially gave states 10 days to respond, but extended the deadline to April 24.

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17 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have said they intend to sign the certification, according to an Education Week tally. Nineteen states have declined to sign the certification. The remaining states either are still reviewing the certification and haven’t indicated their intentions or haven’t yet made public comments on the matter.

The 17 states that intend to sign the certification break down the following way in terms of partisan control: In 13 states, Republicans control the executive and legislative branches; and in four states, Republicans and Democrats split control of the two branches.

  Education Week

(They shouldn't have used red and blue for this graph.)

Hard to believe Missouri declined to sign. Missouri is big MAGA. and along with Utah and Vermont (both of which declined to sign) has a Republican governor.   It's readily obvious that education in the South is going to be substandard in the future. Perhaps it's their state's rights attitude that causes them to buck the order, because it certainly isn't their disagreement with banning DEI teaching.

Private schools will see an increase in enrollment.  And that will be fine with Republicans.

Education Week previously characterized Maryland and Missouri as intending to sign based on prior communications from state education departments and in media reports.

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A spokesperson for the Utah state board of education told news station KJZZ the state will develop its own response outlining state laws and rules that hold districts “accountable for anti-discrimination.” The state, for example, has a DEI ban that took effect last year barring practices such as diversity trainings, equity audits, and DEI offices at schools and colleges.

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In Vermont, Education Secretary Zoie Saunders on April 14 sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education certifying the state’s compliance with Title VI while pushing back against the federal request to certify that schools are not using “illegal DEI practices” and other provisions. The Green Mountain State’s certification “does not incorporate any other Executive Orders, memoranda, or guidance materials or the undefined language regarding ‘certain DEI practices’ or ‘illegal DEI’ in the Request for Certification,” Saunders wrote.

“Indeed, the Department’s own guidance affirms that ‘DEI’ practices are lawful,” the letter continued. "... And schools may employ staff whose titles include ‘DEI Coordinator’ because schools have important obligations, including Title VI obligations, to foster welcoming and equitable learning opportunities for students of all races, and to respond to allegations of racial harassment.”

Vermont is just asking for trouble.

Some of those declining to sign the federal certification have questioned the Education Department’s authority to request such a certification and noted that districts already routinely certify their compliance with civil rights laws as a condition of receiving federal money.

“We will not sign additional certifications that lack authority, lack clarity, or are an assault on the autonomy of states and local school districts by misapplying a higher education admissions case,” said Chris Reykdal, Washington state’s education chief, in an April 8.

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Some also raised concerns about the abrupt nature of the department’s request, which came with no comment period or advance notice.

“At best, the Reminder and Request appears to be redundant,” wrote Benjamin Jones, general counsel for the Wisconsin Department of Instruction. “At worst, the Reminder and Request appears to be unauthorized, unlawful, and unconstitutionally vague.”statement.

Kentucky has a unique answer...

The state gave districts until April 18 to sign their own certifications, but said it will propose that the federal office for civil rights take no enforcement action against districts that don’t sign “on the grounds that the Certification Form does not comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,” [Education Commissioner Robbie] Fletcher wrote to superintendents, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Perhaps they will be allowed to file online.

The nation’s two largest teachers’ unions separately sued the department [...] and they have both since added challenges to the certification letter to their lawsuits. Both are [asking] judges to stop the federal agency from enforcing the February memo and the certification requirement. The NAACP launched a third legal challenge.

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On April 10, the department agreed as part of the National Education Association’s lawsuit in federal court in New Hampshire to halt any enforcement of either the February Dear Colleague letter or the latest certification requirement until after April 24.

“This pause in enforcement provides immediate relief to schools across the country while the broader legal challenge continues,” the NEA press release announcing the agreement said.

The U.S. Department of Labor under Trump has also drawn legal challenges for an executive order requiring grant recipients to sign a certification letter similar to the one sent to states and K-12 schools.

In blocking part of that order, a judge said plaintiffs who challenged it were likely to succeed in arguing that the order is unconstitutionally vague and violates free speech rights.