K-12 schools must sign certification against DEI to receive federal money, administration says WASHINGTON (AP) — As a condition for receiving federal money, the Trump administration is ordering K-12 schools to certify that they are following federal civil rights laws and ending any discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion practices. A notice sent Thursday by the Education Department gives states and schools 10 days to sign and return the certification. It’s the latest escalation against DEI policies, apparently giving the Republican administration a new lever for terminating federal money. “Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement. He said many schools have flouted their legal obligations, “including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another.” The certification asks state and school leaders to sign a “reminder of legal obligations” acknowledging their federal money is conditioned on compliance with federal civil rights laws. It also demands compliance with several pages of legal analysis written by the administration.
I don't think this stance will go very well for schools in the state of New York. The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving funds for DEI education of teachers in 12 states made it very clear that the Trump administration can cut all funding to schools that don't eliminate DEI. Federal funding makes up 6% of the overall school budget in New York. This money mainly is targeted for students with disabilities, Title 1 students, and low income students. Cutting the federal money will leave many students with disabilities with no assistance in the classroom and end programs that help them. Similarly low income students will be adversely impacted -- which in the state of New York does not effectively hurt NYC but primarily impacts all the upstate rural school systems in red counties that voted for Trump. NY public schools tell Trump administration they won’t comply with DEI order https://apnews.com/article/dei-trump-schools-federal-funding-ae605932fa7fa6605f89574906a346f7
What the hell is wrong with the New York City public school system? If the school system is going to promote terrorism then all of its funding should be removed. New York schools apologize for sharing Gaza protest toolkit NYC Public Schools apologized for an antisemitic toolkit in a newsletter and promised to take steps to better protect Jewish students. https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-849611
Not looking good for Harvard -- all of their federal funding will be cut. Fortunately they have a huge endowment fund which they can get by on for a period of time, but many donors will not be happy with the rate the money will be drained at (which was supposed to be used for student scholarships, etc. -- not for the operating costs of the university). Harvard Says It Will Not Comply With Trump Administration’s Demands Federal officials said Harvard must enact “merit-based reform” in hiring and admissions, among other things. Harvard called the demands unlawful. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/us/harvard-trump-reject-demands.html Harvard University said on Monday that it had rejected policy changes requested by the Trump administration that would have placed “unprecedented” demands on the institution, setting up a showdown between the administration and the nation’s wealthiest university. A letter to Harvard from the Trump administration on Friday demanded that the university reduce the power of students and faculty members over the university’s affairs; report foreign students who commit conduct violations immediately to federal authorities; and bring in an outside party to ensure that each academic department is “viewpoint diverse,” among other steps. “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” said Alan Garber, Harvard’s president, in a statement to the university on Monday. Lawyers for Harvard said in response to the administration’s letter that the university “is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration.” The Trump administration said in March that it was examining about $256 million in federal contracts for Harvard, and an additional $8.7 billion in what it described as “multiyear grant commitments.” The announcement went on to suggest that Harvard had not done enough to curb antisemitism on campus. It was vague about what the university could do to satisfy the Trump administration. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
As expected, the Trump administration immediately froze federal funding for Harvard. Trump Administration Will Freeze $2 Billion After Harvard Refuses Demands On Monday afternoon, Harvard became the first university to directly refuse to comply with the administration. By the evening, federal officials said they would freeze $2.2 billion in multiyear grants to Harvard, along with a $60 million contract. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/us/harvard-trump-reject-demands.html
Nice tax exempt status you have there, Harvard. Would be a shame if something happened to it. Trump threatens to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status in escalating feud with Ivy League school Similar to many other nonprofit colleges, Harvard is exempt from federal and state income taxes. The president doesn't have unilateral authority to revoke an organization's tax-exempt status. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...ard-university-tax-exempt-status/83097386007/
Deadline looms for schools to cut DEI programs or risk losing funding WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The clock is ticking for schools across the United States to dismantle their diversity, equity and inclusion programs or risk losing federal funding. The U.S. Department of Education has ordered state and K-12 school district leaders to certify “compliance with their antidiscrimination obligations,” which the Trump administration argues are violated by DEI programs that “advantage one race over another.” School officials face a Thursday deadline to confirm the removal of DEI initiatives. If they don’t, they could face cuts to federal funds, which account for about 10% of public school budgets on average. “No student should be denied opportunity or treated differently because of their race,” the department said in a statement to NewsNation. “When state education commissioners accept federal funding, they undertake the obligation to abide by federal antidiscrimination law. The Department is simply asking school districts to certify they are following the law and not using race preferences or pernicious race stereotypes in schools.” According to Education Week, at least 16 states have declined to certify compliance, and more than a dozen are either still reviewing the order or have not issued a statement.