Trump gave states ten days to sign an anti-DEI policy. The NY Education Department is denying

New York will not comply with President Donald Trump’s order to certify that school districts are eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, state Education Department officials said in a letter obtained by Chalkbeat on Friday.

The letter is among the earliest and most forceful responses to Thursday’s threat, which gave state education agencies 10 days to ensure that no public schools in their states have DEI programs that the Trump administration considers illegal — or lose billions of dollars in federal education funding.

Federal officials cited a 2023 Supreme Court decision prohibiting race-based affirmative action in college admissions to argue that any school DEI program that “advantages one’s race over another” violates federal Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

However, New York officials countered that the state has already certified on multiple occasions that it follows federal anti-discrimination law, and that the US Education Department has no legal authority to threaten to withhold federal funding based on its own interpretation of the law.

According to Counsel and Deputy Commissioner Daniel Morton-Bentley, the state Education Department does not have the authority to demand that a State Education Agency agree to its interpretation of a judicial decision or change the terms and conditions of the award without formal administrative process.

“We understand that the current administration wants to censor anything it considers ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion.’… However, no federal or state laws prohibit the principles of DEI,” Morton-Bentley continued. “And USDOE has yet to define what practices it believes violate Title VI.”

The letter concluded that the state would not send any “further certification” of compliance with federal law.

A spokesperson for the United States Department of Education did not immediately return a request for comment.

The US Department of Education’s DEI directive issued on Thursday is the latest in a series of moves aimed at stifling efforts to address racism and inequity in schools.

Trump previously issued an executive order threatening to withhold federal funding from schools due to “radical indoctrination” in classrooms. The US Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights warned districts that any policies that consider race or proxies for race could lead to an investigation.

Earlier on Friday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson stated that the city would sue the federal government if funds were withheld as a result of the order, calling it a “unconstitutional” attack on free speech.

New York officials questioned whether the Supreme Court’s decision in the college affirmative action case applies to DEI programs in K-12 schools, claiming the case “does not have the totemic significance that you have assigned to it.”

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

The letter also emphasizes that the Trump administration’s current stance on DEI is “an abrupt shift” from its position during Trump’s first term, when former education secretary Betsy DeVos told staff that “[d]iversity and inclusion are the cornerstones of high organizational performance.”

Federal funds account for approximately 10% of total education funding nationwide. The federal government provides approximately $2 billion per year to New York City, the country’s largest school system, or 5% of its total budget, including nearly $700 million in Title I funds that support schools with high poverty rates.

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