Several education associations have vowed not to comply with the Trump administration’s order to stop diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in K-12 and higher education.

In response to a February 14 memo issued by the Department of Education, the risk that schools requesting schools will suspend race-based decisions and other DEI initiatives or lose federal funds; School Supervisors Association (AASA), “As the voice of the public for public education,” consisting of school administrators across the country, advised school districts. Ignore the guidance. Higher education groups such as the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), as well as policy advisory organizations such as the American Council of Education (ACE) and Edorast, told institutions that they were “energized against attacks on education,” and disobedience in the sector I’m standing up. rule.

“To be abundantly clear, dear colleague letters are not law,” ACE president Ted Mitchell said at a policy briefing Tuesday. According to For internal higher education. “They are mere statements of intent by the enforcement as to how they intend to interpret the law. Therefore, excessive violations, predictive compliance, preemptive compliance are not strategies. Strategies are far more considered. It needs to be done and it needs to be more subtle.”

“Dear Colleague” from the Education Department letter From the warning school that policies that used “racial-based preferences and other forms of racism” violated the Constitution and Civil Rights Act and gave them two weeks to amend the program. (Related: Trump’s education sector is $600 million axes with “social justice activism” grants)

We live in an upside-down reality where efforts to ameliorate racial injustice are now considered racist by the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office. 😡https://t.co/vvvcztlbpe

– AAUP’s Texas Conference (@texaaup) February 15, 2025

aaup It is listed The order means that the administration “declared a war on American civil rights in education,” and that schools “define what higher education is and what it does and are doing, and it is a massive surge to rule. We must seek violations.”

“Trump and his peers are set to return to a world through threats and intimidation where they enjoyed free prioritization of treatment,” writes Aaup. “They command the power of Congress’ wallets to strengthen and maintain their own unfair advantages. We must refuse.”

“In the face of these attacks on education and civil rights, students and faculty across the country are organising in communities,” AAUP continued. “Would you like to participate? The way we aim to dismantle our democracy is to participate in collective action.”

The AASA advised schools that the process by which the education sector revokes funds to violate civil rights laws is long, so schools risk denying their administration.

“It is also important to remember that there is a long-term process for withdrawing funds because the district fails to comply with civil rights laws,” AASA said. I wrote it. “The OCR must first initiate a compliance review or other investigation and actually investigate the complaints, which will allow educational institutions to submit data and legal responses to the claim; You must find that the agency or agency is in violation of the law.”

Edtrust reference Similar to the divisional letter as a “perversion of civil rights law,” the schools “advanced to stick to their commitment to programs and strategies that support black students. Orders from the new administration and letters from dear colleagues .”

President Donald Trump has made several efforts to eradicate Day from schools, and issued a January 29 order that schools demanding schools have radical gender ideology and critical race You teach theory (CRT) or risk losing federal funds. Ministry of Education has already begun demolishing DEIs within the DEI wall, scrub hundreds of documents from websites outlining DEI practices, disbanding DEI teams, stopping DEI training, and multiple on administrative leave We have staffed.

AASA, AAUP, ACE, EDTRUST and the Department of Education did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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