Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s push to end DEI in K-12 schools

The administration of US President Donald Trump’s administration has been unable to halt funding for public schools that support diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts because of a federal judge in New Hampshire.

The US Department of Education is prohibited from enforcing its policy against members of three groups, including the National Education Association, the largest teachers’ union, in Concord, on Thursday, with the release of a preliminary injunction from District Judge Landya McCafferty’s Concord.

After the Education Department threatened to cut funding for educational institutions that were participating in DEI efforts in February, the NEA, its local affiliate in New Hampshire, and the Center for Black Educator Development filed a lawsuit against the organization.

According to a letter, the federal law forbids races from being taken into account in decisions involving race in things like housing, hiring and promotions, pay, financial aid, and graduation ceremonies.

McCafferty, a nominee for Democratic President Barack Obama, said an order was necessary to stop the policy from being implemented with the plaintiffs, their members, or any organization that employs or contracts its members.

As a prerequisite for receiving federal funding, the Trump administration issued an order in K-12 schools (kindergarten to 12th grade) to formally certify within 10 days that they are adhering to federal civil rights laws and that they are not engaging in discriminatory DEI practices.

The Trump administration issued a memo on February 14 in which it stated that it had given US institutions 14 days to end diversity initiatives or face losing federal funding.

The Education Department also provided a ultimatum to stop weighing “racial preferences” in hiring, job placement, and other areas.

Schools across the US have been frantically trying to figure out what practices might conflict with the anti-DEI orders since then.

However, critics objected to April’s certification letter, saying it contradicts Trump’s pledge to return education to schools and states.

Is this what the Trump administration refers to as local control? You can’t say you’re re-establishing state control over schools and then dictating how they run their schools, National Parents Union president Keri Rodrigues said earlier this month.

The national teachers’ union, the American Federation of Teachers, also filed a lawsuit to stop the February 14 memo, alleging it violates the First and Fifth Amendments.

The union’s president, Randi Weingarten, added that federal law forbids the White House from telling schools and colleges what to teach, and that federal funds cannot be withheld without the consent of the government. The union’s president, Randi Weingarten, told The AP in early April.