RALEIGH — The U.S. Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter on Feb. 14 directing education agencies in all 50 states to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs from schools by Feb. 28 or risk losing federal funding.
The letter was signed by Craig Trainor, the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDOE) acting assistant secretary for civil rights, and directs “all educational institutions” to ensure their policies comply with civil rights law, stop using proxies to circumvent race-based prohibitions and cease relying on third-party contractors that might help circumvent these prohibitions.
The letter also provides information about filing discrimination complaints with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
“Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism’ and advanced discriminatory policies and practices,” the letter states. “Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them — particularly during the last four years — under the banner of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (‘DEI’), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.”
Trainor’s letter states that discrimination based on race, color or national origin is both illegal and morally wrong, citing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The letter also cites the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), stating that any use of race must satisfy “strict scrutiny” and be narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling interest.
“The Department will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this Nation’s educational institutions,” Trainor wrote. “The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent.”
Additionally, the letter explicitly prohibits educational institutions from using race in decisions regarding admissions, hiring, financial aid, housing, graduation ceremonies and all other aspects of academic life.
The UNC System Board of Trustees and Board of Governors began cutting back DEI programs in 2024. Position cuts and reassignments of more than $17 million are being repurposed to other UNC System needs, and the system’s former DEI policy was rewritten to balance institutional neutrality with academic freedom, student support and the university’s core mission.
In response to a request for comment, Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS) said in an emailed statement that it “remains committed to providing all students with a high-quality education while ensuring full compliance with federal and state laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.”
WCPSS is the largest district in North Carolina with documented DEI-tied policies and training, as well as operating an Office of Equity Affairs engaged in those efforts.
WCPSS also said the letter “reminds educational institutions to comply with existing civil rights laws, which WCPSS honors and follows,” and the letter “does not create any new legal rules and expressly states that it ‘does not have the force or effect of law.’”
“We are reviewing the letter to ensure continued alignment with federal requirements while maintaining our focus on academic excellence and student achievement,” WCPSS said.
On Feb. 13, USDOE announced the cancellation of 10 contracts totaling $336 million to several “Regional Educational Laboratories and Equity Assistance Centers.”
The USDOE said another four contracts to equity assistance centers totaling $33 million were also canceled. USDOE said the contracts supported “divisive training in DEI, Critical Race Theory, and gender identity for state and local education agencies as well as school boards.”
A day later, the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency announced that USDOE had terminated “70 DEI training grants totaling $373M.”
In January, the USDOE announced it would review its programs and services to identify and address additional DEI initiatives, including those that may use “coded or imprecise language.” Around the same time, OCR also announced the dismissal of 11 complaints over “book bans.”
