Trump's Education Department Will Enforce Anti-Discrimination Laws

On February 14, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) sent a Dear Colleague letter to all institutions who receive federal funding. They made it clear that racial discrimination would no longer be tolerated, and violations of the Civil Rights Act and Equal Protection Clause would be enforced. Now educational institutions are scrambling because enforcement measures are being applied.

On April 3rd the DOE sent a follow up letter demanding certification by April 12th that institutions receiving federal funding affirm they are following anti-discrimination laws—something every educator should enthusiastically support. Yet one of the largest teacher's unions—the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)—filed a lawsuit to prevent the Trump administration from enforcing civil rights laws. The AFT wants to protect racist diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agendas that have torn the nation apart.

Since the Obama-Biden administration, the federal government has coerced schools around the nation into changing their focus from equality to equity. Equality means everyone gets the same opportunity; equity seeks for everyone to have the same outcome. When government seeks to manipulate outcomes, it becomes an authoritarian power. Capitalism and the free market cannot succeed when the government controls outcomes through "equity" manipulation.

“Proponents of equity see no problem with treating groups of people differently based solely on race, as long as it serves their agenda,” says neurosurgeon and former presidential candidate Ben Carson. “This is what we used to call racism, and those not blinded by identity politics still recognize it as such.”

Education institutions must eliminate not only their DEI offices—they must ban all practices that seek to treat people differently based on their skin color.

(READ MORE: Naval Academy Superintendent's Congressional Testimony Contradicts Facts About Race-Based Admissions)

Divisive Equity Practices in Schools

Across the nation, the tentacles of "equity" have become deeply rooted in education establishments. Schools categorize students and employees into racial groups and embed racist equity initiatives in everything they do. Districts strategic plans or equity policies—usually approved by an elected school board—outline the priorities for the district. Rather than a focus on academic achievement, these policies promote divisive DEI programs that push racist narratives.

Here are just a few examples:

• Fredericksburg Public Schools, VA: Equity is a vital part of their strategic plan with measures ensuring that "staff and student demographics are equally proportionate." They recently recognized March 2025 as "Equity in Education Month" and emphasized the division has "embraced equity and equity initiatives." They highlighted ongoing discussions of equity practices and programming in the schools for the entire month. The school division also targets achievement outcomes based on race.
• Wake County Schools, NC: Nearly all measures in the strategic plan focus on eliminating demographic differences based on race and gender: "Eliminate over-representation by race, ethnicity, gender, and disability in student discipline referrals, suspensions, and absences." The Wake County School Board chose not to eliminate their DEI office, and board member Eric Shephard doubled down making racist comments about "mediocre white men." Their equity policy applies "an equity lens through a systems approach and individual application and expands our commitment to equity to all levels of the organization."
• Milwaukee Public Schools, WI: A high school Comparative Ethnic Studies course teaches students about "white privilege" and that being colorblind is a form of racism. Their "Equity Guidebook" provides multiple resources on how to talk to white people about racism, the hierarchies of privilege, and how to "examine the presence and role of whiteness."
• Clark County Schools, NV: The district equity policy seeks to "increase the diversity" of all staff. An entire section of the policy describes how the district will provide additional strategies and opportunities for "historically underrepresented" groups and combat "structural racism."
• Lower Merion Schools, PA: The equity policy promotes the elimination of barriers of those who have "historically experienced opportunity or achievement gaps" due to factors of race, color, ethnicity, national origin," etc. [terms race and ethnicity are highlighted in the document]. The district also pushes employee professional development that promotes awareness of "implicit bias awareness and social justice" and offer opportunities for "self-reflection."

Pushing equal outcomes rather than equal opportunity defies the constitution and civil rights laws. Leftist school districts oppose equal opportunity—and attempts to control outcomes harm every race.

Equity Agendas Are Harmful

The equity fad in the post-Obama world has not achieved the desired equal outcomes pushed by radicals who distort the need to close the "achievement gap." This gap is defined as the academic differences between students of different races. Black students generally report lower scores in public education settings than those of white students. Equity advocates blame this gap on “structural racism” rather than considering other factors at play such as socioeconomic status, two-parent households with a father figure present, parental involvement, personal choices, and other variables in the home that affect student achievement.

National test scores from the Nations Report Card reveal that equity initiatives have neither closed gaps nor improved academic achievement. Ironically, discriminatory equity agendas pushed in schools over the last decade have harmed all students.

While the gap between races closed slightly, eighth grade reading scores declined for both black and white students from 2015 to 2024. For eight grade math, scores declined for both races and the gap widened.

For fourth graders in reading, the gap remained the same but overall scores for both races declined. In math, the achievement gap widened, and all scores declined.

The data is clear: Divisive DEI agendas lower academic achievement for all races. Not to mention the ill effects these identity politics have on children who are told they're racist simply because of the color of their skin. All children lose under the racist equity narrative.

Thankfully, the Trump administration is holding government schools accountable and will eradicate these racist agendas so teachers can get back to teaching students how to read rather than how to identify their privilege.

(READ MORE: Virginia House Speaker Don Scott Demands Special Treatment, Claims Racism)