A federal judge temporarily blocked new guidance from the Department of Education aimed at limiting DEI programs in K-12 public schools.
Earlier this month, the Department of Education sent a memo to states requesting school leaders certify updated compliance with civil rights laws.
The guidance included adhering to Title VI requirements and prohibiting "programs to advantage one's race over another" and the "use of illegal DEI practices."
On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty wrote, "The Letter does not even define what a 'DEI program' is."
The vagueness of the memo confused many educators, according to Julie Underwood, the former dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Education.
"This thing is so vague, unclear, over broad," Underwood said. "Nobody knows what they can do and what they can't do."
Prior to the judge's ruling, states had been split in their response to the certification request.
According to Education Week, leaders from 19 states and Puerto Rico had said they intended to sign the certification, while 16 state leaders declined to sign it. Leaders from the remaining states had not publicly commented on their position.
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New York was the first state to push back on the request earlier this month.
In a letter obtained by Scripps News from Daniel Morton-Bentley, the counsel and deputy commissioner of the New York State Education Department wrote back to the Department of Education and questioned if it had "any authority" to demand adherence to its new guidance.
"(T)here are no federal or State laws prohibiting the principles of DEI," Morton-Bentley wrote in a letter on April 4.
Melinda Person, the president of New York State United Teachers, a union representing teachers in the state, said she agreed with the state's pushback.
"We see this as an attempt by the federal administration to bully states and school districts into stopping the practices that they've been doing to support every child, and we don't believe they have the right or ability to do that," Person told Scripps News.
She worried future federal funding cuts for schools could hurt students who rely on specialized programming.
"We don't want people to be worried that their programs are going to be cut — that special needs kids are not going to get the services they need," Person said. "The fear and the confusion that it's creating, that the real impact on students."
But other state leaders like Arizona's superintendent of public instruction, Tom Horne, agree with the new guidance from the Department of Education.
Horne says the idea of DEI focuses too much on race.
"I believe that the most important philosophical divide in our country right now are between those like myself who believe in individual merit and those who would substitute racial entitlements," Horne said. "I believe that (DEI is) an evil movement. It's done harm, and it's unjust because people should be judged as individuals."
Because he views DEI as focused on race, Horne said he doesn't think eliminating it would hurt some groups of students who DEI proponents say are helped by certain DEI programs.
"I don't believe that anybody honestly believes that barring DEI means we can't give special help to handicapped students," Horne said. "I think that's brought up by people who are against what the administration is doing. ... That's not a sincere concern."
Part of the conflict comes from a lack of understanding and definition of what DEI is.
Underwood said the Department of Education needs a better definition and needs to implement that "through the Administrative Procedures Act."
The Trump administration is likely to appeal the judge's ruling, and a final determination could take time as the case makes its way through the courts.
