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US Judges halt Trump administration’s attempt to cut public school funding over DEI programs

Judges in New Hampshire, Maryland, and Washington, DC, issued rulings that limit or suspend implementation of recent guidance from the US Education Department.

The US Education Department had given states until Thursday to certify that local schools are in compliance with civil rights law, including the abandonment of what it called 'illegal DEI practices.' (File Representational Photo)

Three federal judges blocked or delayed the Trump administration’s recent efforts to clamp down on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in public schools. The rulings came in separate lawsuits filed by civil rights and teachers’ organizations who argued that the administration’s directives were vague, overreaching, and violated constitutional rights.

Judges in New Hampshire, Maryland, and Washington, DC, issued rulings that limit or suspend implementation of recent guidance from the US Education Department.

In New Hampshire

US District Judge Landya McCafferty in New Hampshire said the administration’s April guidance failed to clearly define DEI programs or clarify when such efforts might violate civil rights laws. “The letter does not even define what a ‘DEI program’ is,” McCafferty wrote according to AP.

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She added that the guidance could amount to viewpoint discrimination. “A professor runs afoul of the 2025 letter if she expresses the view in her teaching that structural racism exists in America, but does not do so if she denies structural racism’s existence. That is textbook viewpoint discrimination.”

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In Maryland

In Maryland, US District Judge Stephanie Gallagher postponed the implementation of the February 14 memo, which had extended a 2023 Supreme Court decision banning race-based college admissions to other aspects of education, such as hiring, scholarships, and housing.

Gallagher found the memo was improperly issued and could force teachers to choose between “being injured through suppressing their speech or through facing enforcement for exercising their constitutional rights.”

That case was filed by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, welcomed the ruling.

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In Washington

In Washington, DC, a third judge granted a preliminary injunction against another element of the April guidance following a lawsuit by the NAACP, which argued that the administration failed to identify specific DEI practices that could trigger legal or financial penalties.

The US Education Department had given states until Thursday to certify that local schools are in compliance with civil rights law, including the abandonment of what it called “illegal DEI practices.” States that refused to submit the form risked losing access to Title I funds — the primary federal aid program for schools in low-income communities.

President Donald Trump’s education secretary, Linda McMahon, emphasized the potential consequences in a Fox Business Network interview on Tuesday, saying states that refuse to sign could “risk some defunding in their districts.”

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McMahon said the goal was to ensure “no discrimination happening in any of the schools.”

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Some Democratic-led states have already said they will not comply with the new requirements, calling them a federal overreach.

(With inputs from AP)

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