U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in a Thursday ruling permanently blocked two memos issued by the Trump administration that threatened schools with funding cuts for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Earlier in the year, the Trump administration issued a \u201cDear Colleague\u201d letter<\/a> for universities threatening to take funding if they don\u2019t end \u201cillegal\u201d DEI efforts. Soon after, K-12 districts got a memo to certify<\/a> they have no DEI practices in their schools. \u00a0<\/p>\n The American Federation of Teachers, Democracy Forward and others sued over both of the memos, arguing the administration did not go through the proper procedures and violated the rights of schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPlaintiffs have shown that neither challenged agency action was promulgated in accordance\u00a0with the procedural requirements of the APA, and that both actions run afoul of important\u00a0constitutional rights,\u201d wrote Gallagher, who was appointed by President Trump. \u00a0<\/p>\n The Hill has reached out to the Education Department for comment. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s final judgment by a federal court affirms what we and the plaintiffs in this case have long known: the Trump-Vance administration\u2019s crusade against civil rights, equity, and inclusion is unlawful and threatens all Americans. This is an invaluable decision that will have a sweeping and positive impact on public schools, teachers, and students. Threatening teachers and sowing chaos in schools throughout America is part of the administration\u2019s war on education, and today the people won,\u201d said\u00a0Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n