CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A federal judge on Thursday blocked Trump administration’s instructions Threatened to cut federal funds For public schools with diversity, equity and comprehensive programs.
The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the National Education Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, accusing the Republican administration of giving “unconstitutional and ambiguous” guidance and violating teachers’ first amendments.
The second judge on Thursday postponed the effective date for measures for the U.S. education sector; Another case Submitted by the American Federation of Teachers in Maryland.
In February, the department told schools and universities that it needed to finish practices that differentiate people based on race. Earlier this month, the nation ordered its signatures to be collected from local school systems certifying compliance with civil rights laws, including refusing what the federal government calls “illegal DEI practices.”
Rather than carrying forces in the law, the directive threatens to use civil rights enforcement to eliminate DEI practices. Schools continue to carry out such practices “in violation of federal law” and endanger the US Department of Justice’s lawsuits. End of federal grants and contracts.
New Hampshire US District Court Judge Randya McCafferty said the April letter didn’t make clear when the department believes that the DEI program would involve, or when such programs cross the line to violate civil rights laws. “This letter doesn’t even define what a ‘DEI program’ is,” writes McCafferty.
The judge also said there was reason to believe that departmental actions violated the teacher’s right to free speech.
“If a professor expresses his view on the teaching that there is structural racism in America, he would violate the 2025 letter, but he would not do so if he denied the existence of structural racism. That is textbook perspective discrimination.”
A spokesman for the education department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The state was given to submit certification of school compliance until the end of Thursday, but some countries have shown they will not comply with the order. Some democratically-led state education officials say that the government is I’m trampling on that authority And there’s nothing illegal about Day.
A February 14 memo, officially known as a “dear colleague” letter, said the school promoted DEI’s efforts at the expense of white and Asian American students. It dramatically expands the interpretation of the 2023 Supreme Court decision, except for the use of race in university admissions for all aspects of education, including employment, promotions, scholarships, housing, graduations, and campus life.
In the Maryland ruling, US District Judge Stephanie Gallagher postponed the memo. She discovered it was being published improperly, forcing the teacher to choose “injured by suppressing speech or face enforcement to exercise constitutional rights.”
“The court agreed that this vague and clearly unconstitutional requirement is a serious attack on students, our profession, our honest history and knowledge itself,” AFT president Randi Weingarten said in a statement.
The lawsuit argues that because guidance limits academic freedom and is so vague, schools and educators leave limbo about what they do, what they do, and what they do, such as whether voluntary student groups for minority students are still permitted.
The April directive asked the state to collect certification forms from local school districts and sign them on their behalf, ensuring they were in compliance with Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
President Donald Trump’s education secretary, Linda McMahon, warned of potential funding cuts if the state does not return the form by Friday.
In an interview with Fox Business Network on Tuesday, McMahon said refusing to sign “is potentially risking some refunds in the district.” The purpose of the form is to “ensure that there is no discrimination that is occurring at any school,” she said.
Schools and states are already required to ensure its effectiveness with separate documents, but the new form warns that adding language to the DEI and discriminating using diversity programs can result in funding cuts, fines and other penalties.
This form threatens access to school Title I. Title I is the biggest source of federal income for K-12 education and the lifeline of schools in low-income areas. ___
Binkley was reported from Washington.
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