ED Issues New DEI Directive for States
April 03, 2025
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5/22 UPDATED: On April 24, 2025, a U.S. district judge issued a nationwide stay on implementation of the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 February Dear Colleague letter that describes the agency鈥檚 interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard Supreme Court case. The district judge found that the plaintiffs, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the AFT Maryland chapter, the American Sociological Association, and a school district, are likely to succeed on their claim that the February Dear Colleague letter was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. The nationwide stay will remain in effect while the case proceeds, and it prohibits the U.S. Department of Education from taking Title VI enforcement action based on interpretations in the Dear Colleague letter that stray from existing law. The stay does not prevent the U.S. Department of Education from taking other Title VI-related enforcement action.
4/28 UPDATED: On 4/28, the U.S. Department of Education sent a notice to State Chiefs that they were no longer requiring districts and States to complete the Title VI DEI certification. It is unclear whether the litigation on the underlying DEI guidance will be appealed by ED in three separate circuits. Meanwhile, ED cannot continue to find districts noncompliant with their Feb 14th guidance by districts until further courts rule.
4/24 UPDATED: All of the litigation challenging the DEI order have been successful and there is now a nationwide preliminary injunction that prevents the U.S. Department of Education from enforcing any part of the 2/14 DEI guidance which also encompasses the 4/3 requirement that States/Districts certify their compliance with the guidance. While the NEA litigation was limited to just districts that employ or contract with NEA members, the 14-day injunction in the AFT lawsuit and the NAACP lawsuit applies to all districts.
4/10 UPDATED: In a case filed by the for its Feb 14 Title IV guidance (and then updated with the VI certification request), ED agreed not to take any action regarding certifications against districts and states until after the April 24 deadline. This gives the court time to hear the preliminary injunction argument filed by NEA/ACLU which is scheduled for argument on April 17.
4/7 UPDATED: The Department is now giving States until 4/24 to certify state鈥檚 compliance with Title VI.
Today, the U.S. Department of Education issued a new directive every state education agency (SEA) to within 10 days that they are complying with federal civil rights laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Supreme Court鈥檚 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA). The certification does not demand the end of DEI efforts, but instead reiterates the need to ensure those efforts are lawful under Title VI and to cease 鈥渋llegal DEI practices.鈥�
The directive requires SEAs to collect certifications from all school districts in their state within ten days. The Department framed the certifications as a response to concerns about the misuse of 鈥渋llegal鈥� diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that may, in its view, favor or harm some groups and not others. To better understand what the Department means by illegal DEI it is worth reading the . Districts that are seeking more clarity regarding the consequences of certification should consult with legal counsel before signing it or amending it. If a district chooses not to sign this, they would need to be prepared to litigate before the deadline.
While the certification does not introduce new legal standards, it does place SEAs and school districts in a more formal compliance posture. By requiring an explicit certification, the Department has created a clearer record鈥攐ne that could, in some cases, be cited in False Claims Act (FCA) complaints if a program is later alleged to violate Title VI. The FCA is a longstanding federal statute that permits the government or private whistleblowers to bring lawsuits based on alleged false claims for federal funds. This kind of enforcement risk is not new鈥擲EAs and school districts have long been required to provide assurances that they comply with civil rights laws as a condition of receiving federal funds, and so any SEA or school district that currently receives federal funding is already at risk of a FCA complaint based on the current administration鈥檚 interpretation of Title VI.
For a deeper dive on this directive and what evolving DEI policies mean for schools, we encourage you to read from ECR Solutions. You can check out this analysis from .
