NY won’t back down over DEI in schools

Gary Stern

Rockland/Westchester Journal News USA TODAY NETWORK

Officials say feds lack authority to deny funds

New York’s top education official confirmed Monday morning that the state will not back down to the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict DEI programs in the nation’s schools.

Lester Young, chancellor of the state Board of Regents, an often-fiery proponent of diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the schools, said he wanted to be clear about where New York stands.

“Let us move forward today with resolve and purpose, knowing that our efforts are transforming lives and shaping the future,” he said at the start of the monthly meeting of the Regents in Albany on Monday. “We will ensure that every child in New York state has access to the promise and power of education.”

Young quoted the late rapper Biggie Smalls: “If you don’t know, well, now you know.”

Young did not talk directly about the Trump administration’s efforts. But he referenced with pride a letter sent to Washington on Friday by the state Education Department’s counsel that said New York won’t comply with a Trump administration order that gave states 10 days to certify that their schools do not have diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The feds Thursday threatened to withhold funding from states that do not comply with the order.

The next day, April 4, Daniel Morton Bentley, counsel and deputy commissioner of New York’s Education Department, wrote to the U.S. Department of Education: “We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems ‘diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI).’ But there are no federal or state laws prohibiting the principles of DEI.”

Bentley wrote that New York was “unaware of any authority” the federal government has to change the terms of federal funding without a formal administrative process. And he wrote that since New York already complies with federal law, “no further certification will be forthcoming.”

Federal funding makes up about 6% of funding for K-12 education in New York. Much of the money goes to urban school districts in the form of Title I funds, which are supposed to help with the education of students from poverty.

The state Education Department has since 2021 pushed school districts to adopt sweeping DEI policies and programs for hiring, instruction, the choosing of materials and more.

On Saturday, Melinda Person, president of New York State United Teachers, the statewide teachers union, applauded the state Education Department’s stand.

“New York will not be bullied into abandoning our core values or erasing the efforts we’ve made to ensure that every student — no matter their race, background or ZIP code — has safe and welcoming educational environments that give them a fair shot at success,” she said. “We’ve come too far to let hate and fear win; our students deserve better.”

Trump administration: DEI programs violate federal law

At issue is the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin. States traditionally must certify with the federal government that they comply with Title VI to receive federal funds.

In a statement Thursday, the Trump administration argued that DEI efforts are themselves discriminatory and violate Title VI.

Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights in the U.S. Education Department, cited a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which found that race-based college admissions programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

“Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,” Trainor said. “When state education commissioners accept federal funds, they agree to abide by federal antidiscrimination requirements. Unfortunately, we have seen too many schools flout or outright violate these obligations, including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another based on identity characteristics in clear violation of Title VI.”

In his response to Washington, Bentley said the Harvard case, which focused on college admissions, did not have such “totemic significance.”

“USDOE is entitled to make policy pronouncements it wants — but cannot conflate policy with law,” he wrote.

In January, Trump took aim at schools’ DEI policies, polices on gender and more in a series of executive orders. He also wants to shutter the federal Department of Education.