Appeal Regarding Anti-DEI in Educational Institutions Dropped by Trump Administration

Appeal Regarding Anti-DEI in Educational Institutions Dropped by Trump Administration

By Jazzmone Sutton, NAfME Senior Manager of State Advocacy and Equity

On January 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education terminated its appeal regarding the “Dear Colleague Letter” (DCL) to end Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in public education that was published in February 2025.

In the DCL, the Department’s Office of Civil Rights urged all PreK –12 schools, colleges, universities, and state educational institutions to comply with the following directives:

“(1) ensure that their policies and actions comply with existing civil rights law; (2) cease all efforts to circumvent prohibitions on the use of race by relying on proxies or other indirect means to accomplish such ends; and (3) cease all reliance on third-party contractors, clearinghouses, or aggregators that are being used by institutions in an effort to circumvent prohibited uses of race.”

Educational institutions were required to sign a document certifying their compliance with the directives or risk potential loss of federal funding. Institutions were given fourteen days to sign and return the document. The Department stated that this decision was based on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), which stated that the use of racial preferences in college admissions was unlawful. The DCL noted that the SFFA ruling applied to admissions and therefore applied to educational institutions as well. Along with the DCL and the compliance requirement, the Department created the “End DEI Portal” where individuals could report “concerning practices” in educational institutions related to DEI for the Department to investigate.

In April 2025, a U.S. District Court ruled that the DCL, Compliance Requirement, and the portal violated the First Amendment and other federal reporting procedures. This decision was made as result of a court filing brought forth by the American Federation of Teachers against the Department.

The Administration dropped their appeals in mid-February regarding another court filing initiated by the National Education Association (NEA). While the dismissals of the appeals have taken effect, the Department’s efforts to eliminate DEI initiatives continue to impact students, including the removal of more than 300 pages from its website, and the cancellation of grants for music and arts education. The Department stated that it will continue to target “impressible” DEI initiatives. Advocates continue to monitor the Department’s efforts to eliminate DEI from educational institutions, and we will share updates on the NAfME Advocacy Bulletin Blog.

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