❓WHAT HAPPENED: A federal judge struck down Trump administration guidance aimed at curbing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in federally funded schools.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Judge Stephanie Gallagher, the Department of Education, and teachers’ groups, including the American Federation of Teachers.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The ruling was issued on Thursday in a Maryland District Court.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The administration is entitled to express its viewpoints and to promulgate policies aligned with those viewpoints. But it must do so within the procedural bounds Congress has outlined.” – Judge Stephanie Gallagher
🎯IMPACT: The ruling blocks the enforcement of guidance that sought to end racially-based DEI programs, raising constitutional concerns about procedural requirements.
Maryland District Court Judge Stephanie Gallagher has struck down Trump administration guidance warning schools against adopting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that discriminate against white or Asian students. The decision also invalidates the Education Department’s requirement for schools to certify non-discrimination in their DEI initiatives.
“This Court takes no view as to whether the policies at issue in this case are good or bad, prudent or foolish, fair or unfair,” Gallagher stated. “But… it must closely scrutinize whether the government went about creating and implementing them in the manner the law requires. Here, it did not. And by leapfrogging important procedural requirements, the government has unwittingly run headfirst into serious constitutional problems,” she claimed.
The ruling follows a lawfare suit from the American Federation of Teachers and other teachers’ groups. Issued in February, the guidance required state education agencies to submit compliance certifications by April and threatened funding cuts for schools maintaining race-based DEI programs.
The Department of Education voiced disappointment with the ruling. “While the Department is disappointed in the judge’s ruling, judicial action enjoining or setting aside this guidance has not stopped our ability to enforce Title VI protections for students at an unprecedented level,” a spokesman said. “The Department remains committed to its responsibility to uphold students’ anti-discrimination protections under the law.”
The original guidance declared, “American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families. These institutions’ embrace of pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and other forms of racial discrimination have emanated throughout every facet of academia.”
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