A federal judge on Thursday sided with the American Federation of Teachers and struck down two Trump administration memos aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in U.S. schools and universities.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland ruled that the Department of Education (DOE) violated the law when it threatened to cut federal funding from educational institutions that continued with DEI initiatives.
The American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association had asked for a summary judgment on their February lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s directive.
President Donald Trump appointed Judge Gallagher to the federal bench in 2019 during his first term in office.
As NPR reported:
The case centers on two Education Department memos ordering schools and universities to end all “race-based decision-making” or face penalties up to a total loss of federal funding. It’s part of a campaign to end practices the Trump administration frames as discrimination against white and Asian American students.
The memos came earlier in the year in the form of a “Dear Colleague” letter to universities, followed by another memo to K-12 districts to certify they don’t have any DEI practices in their schools.
The judge ordered the Department of Education to scrap the guidance because it doesn’t follow procedural requirements, though the judge added she had no opinion on whether the policies were “good or bad, prudent or foolish, fair or unfair,” according to the NPR report.
Gallagher disagreed with the government’s argument that the memos were a reminder to the schools that discrimination was illegal.
“It initiated a sea change in how the Department of Education regulates educational practices and classroom conduct, causing millions of educators to reasonably fear that their lawful, and even beneficial, speech might cause them or their schools to be punished,” Gallagher wrote.
A statement from the DOE on Thursday said it was disappointed in the ruling but that “judicial action enjoining or setting aside this guidance has not stopped our ability” to restrict federal funding of DEI programs it considers racially discriminatory.
