The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) will continue to target diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in schools under Title VI despite a court block on its controversial February 14, 2025 anti-DEI Dear Colleague letter. That letter announced the USDE’s policy interpreting Title VI, which protects students from discrimination based on race, ethnicity and national origin, to prohibit DEI programs. It said some schools’ race-based equity programs discriminate against White and Asian students and could result in federal funding loss for school districts.
The USDE had appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October 2025 in an attempt to continue implementing the policy after it was blocked in the lower courts. However, the USDE withdrew its appeal last month and is now exploring other means to implement its anti-DEI efforts. Thus, many suspect that the USDE will take a case-by-case approach to target DEI efforts rather than using the court-blocked policy letter to enact an across-the-board restriction on the programs.
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