The Trump administration is giving schools 10 days to certify they have no ‘illegal DEI practices’
States that don't certify they are in compliance risk losing federal funding, the Department of Education said.
The U.S. Department of Education instructed state education agencies Thursday that to continue receiving federal funding, they have 10 days to certify that schools are complying with antidiscrimination laws and have no “illegal DEI practices.”
A letter released by the department cites the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision striking down affirmative action in college admissions to argue that school diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives — a repeated target of President Donald Trump’s — are racially discriminatory.
“When state education commissioners accept federal funds, they agree to abide by federal antidiscrimination requirements,” said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights. “Unfortunately, we have seen too many schools flout or outright violate these obligations, including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another based on identity characteristics in clear violation of Title VI.”
A number of Philadelphia-area school districts have equity initiatives in place. Here’s what to know about the latest threat from Trump’s administration to pull funding over DEI, and how schools have been responding.
What does the letter say?
The certification letter that states are being asked to submit says that Title I funding — awarded to states to distribute to schools with significant shares of students in poverty — is conditioned on compliance with federal antidiscrimination laws. Pennsylvania received more than $670 million in Title I funding in 2021.
“Any violation of Title VI — including the use of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (‘DEI’) programs to advantage one’s race over another — is impermissible," the letter says, threatening to cut funding for any state or local education agency that continues to use “illegal DEI practices.”
It also threatens “the potential initiation of litigation for breach of contract by the Department of Justice” to recover previous grant money, and says anyone who submits a false certification could face liability.
What other threats has Trump made?
The letter marks the latest effort by the administration to impose Trump’s agenda on the education system. In an executive order earlier this year, Trump directed federal agencies to produce a plan for eliminating federal funding “for illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.”
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights then sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools, citing the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision striking down affirmative action to argue that schools could not consider race in “admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.”
That letter is the subject of a legal challenge, which argues the administration failed to define DEI programs beyond describing them as discriminatory.
While the certification letter issued Thursday to state education agencies says that “the use of certain DEI practices can violate federal law,” it does not specify which practices.
How are Pa. schools responding?
Federal officials said state education agencies would “be responsible for reporting on their state overall and for collecting certification responses” from school districts — with 10 days to return the certification.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Neither did a spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro — who said last month that he would consider legal action if education cuts affected Pennsylvania students.
While not all area school districts have formal DEI programs, some around Philadelphia do have DEI directors and equity policies. A number of districts have said in recent weeks that they have not rolled back those efforts, despite funding threats from the Trump administration.
“It is truly unconscionable that the Trump administration is targeting some of the most vulnerable students and communities by threatening districts with high levels of Title I funding,” said Scott Overland, president of the Phoenixville school board. Overland said Thursday that he was not sure whether his district had received the certification letter, but that “I will do everything in my power to ensure our district never signs” it.
Pennsylvania schools are primarily funded by local and state taxes; only about 1% of Phoenixville’s budget comes from federal sources, according to Overland.
Other districts, including some with higher shares of federal funding — like Philadelphia, where federal money accounts for about 10% of the district budget — did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Jeffrey Sultanik, a solicitor for numerous Pennsylvania school districts, said Thursday that districts had not been sent the certification letter, and that it was the state’s responsibility to respond.
Still, Sultanik said, it will come “back down to a school district level in one fashion or another.” He noted that the Trump administration’s interpretation of the affirmative-action ruling was debated, particularly in terms of how the order translates to K-12 schools.
“We certainly don’t discriminate on who we take, because we take everybody,” Sultanik said of public school admissions. But as schools try to address a dearth of teachers of color, there could be questions about whether the court’s ruling extends to public school hiring practices, he said.