Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell sued the Trump administration over the U.S. Department of Education’s threat to not fund state and local education agencies that do not shut down diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
As part of a coalition of 19 attorneys general, the lawsuit filed Friday seeks to stop the Trump administration from withholding any funding based on “unlawful conditions,” Campbell’s office said in a statement.
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are legal efforts that help students feel safe, supported and respected,” Campbell said in the statement. “The Trump administration’s threats to withhold critical education funding due to the use of these initiatives are not only unlawful, but harmful to our children, families, and schools.”
The lawsuit stated that the attempt to end education funding over the administration’s interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 violates the Spending Clause, the Appropriations Clause, the separation of powers and the Administrative Procedures Act.
Massachusetts annually receives almost $575.2 million in congressionally mandated financial support from the department, including almost $302.4 million in funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
To receive funding, state and local education agencies must comply with Title VI, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin.
While Massachusetts and other states said they would comply with federal nondiscrimination statutes, regulations, and case law, the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title VI is “vague, contradictory and unsupported,” the attorney general said.
On April 3, the department told state and local agencies that they had to sign a document that would allow the White House’s interpretation of Title VI or risk “immediate and catastrophic loss of federal education funds,” Campbell’s office said.
State and local agencies could choose not to certify the department’s “undefined viewpoint on what constitutes unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, curriculum, instruction, and policies, and place federal funding in peril,” Campbell’s office said.
The alternative is to identify DEI as a detriment to students and still risk not being liable for not going along with the department’s order.
“By filing this lawsuit, we seek to block any such reckless disruptions to our children’s education, and as attorney general and a mom, I will continue to hold the Administration accountable for illegal actions that harm our state,” Campbell said in the statement.
The coalition is made up of attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
“Kids with special needs who require [Individualized Education Programs], kids who need to learn English as a second language, kids in foster homes, and more depend on these programs,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement. “…By conditioning this funding in an illegal and thoughtless way, the administration will cause irreversible harm to children in our state. This attack is unacceptable, and we will do everything we can to stop it.”
“Let me be clear: the federal Department of Education is not trying to ‘combat’ discrimination with this latest order,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “Instead, it is using our nation’s foundational civil rights law as a pretext to coerce states into abandoning efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion through lawful programs and policies.”
