Critics said Trump’s order was at odds with the promise to return education to schools and states.
A federal judge in New Hampshire has limited the administration of US President Donald Trump’s administration to cut off funding for public schools engaged in diversity, equity and inclusive efforts.
Concord District Judge Randya McCafati issued a preliminary injunction Thursday, preventing the U.S. Department of Education from enforcing the policy against members of three groups, including the National Education Association, the largest teachers’ union.
The NEA, a local New Hampshire affiliate, called for the Development Center for Black Educators, after the education department threatened to cut funding for educational institutions engaged in DEI’s efforts in February.
In the letter, he said federal law prevents schools from considering race as factors in areas such as hospitalization, employment and promotion, salaries, financial aid, scholarships and awards, awards, housing and graduation ceremonies.
McAfaty, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, refused to issue an injunction to enforce enforcement of policies across the country, but she said that an order was guaranteed to prevent implementation with plaintiffs, their members, or entities that employ or contract members.
In early April, the Trump administration ordered K-12 schools (Kindergarten to 12th grade) across the country to certify within 10 days that they were following federal civil rights laws and ended discriminatory DEI practices.
Following a February 14 memo, the Trump administration said it has given schools and universities for 14 days to eliminate diversity initiatives or risk losing federal money.
In the memo, the education department also gave an ultimatum to cease the use of “racial preferences” as a factor in admission, financial aid, employment, or other areas.
Since then, schools across the United States have been rushing to decide which practices violate anti-DEI orders.
But April’s certification drew a blow from critics who said it contradicted Trump’s promise to return education to schools and states.
“Is this what the Trump administration calls local control? You can’t say you have control over the state, and you’ll tell them how they run the school,” National Parent Federation Chairman Keri Rodriguez told The Associated Press earlier this month.
The American Federation of Teachers, the national teachers’ union, also said it was suing to block the Feb. 14 memo, violating the first and fifth amendments.
Union president Randy Weingern told the Associated Press in early April that certification requirements were illegal, adding that federal law would prohibit telling schools and universities what to teach, and that federal money could not be withheld without a legitimate process.
“He embraces tens of millions of children, tens of millions of children of all races and ethnicities with federal aid to force educators into his politics and ideology.”