Illinois is pushing back on the Trump administration’s demand that the State Board of Education and school districts certify that they reject diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
In a letter to the U.S. Department of Education released Wednesday evening, State Supt. Tony Sanders said Illinois already guarantees compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination in programs that receive federal funding. Sanders said the state board ISBE is not prepared to do anything else at this time.
The letter is in response to a notice sent last week by the Education Department to states and schools, giving them 10 days to certify that they are following the Trump administration’s interpretation of federal civil rights laws by eliminating DEI practices. The notice threatens to freeze federal Title 1 money if the states and school districts don’t follow the edict. Title 1 funding provides extra support to low-income students.
Other states, including New York and Pennsylvania, have responded as Illinois has.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson threatened last week to sue if the Trump administration makes good on its threats to withhold federal money. In a statement, his office said he was speaking “broadly about the importance of fighting back against federal overreach.”
Chicago Public Schools expected about $400 million in Title 1 money this school year.
The federal notice sent to state education departments was another escalation against DEI policies, apparently giving the Republican administration a new lever for potentially terminating federal money.
In Illinois’ response, Sanders wrote that he is concerned about several aspects of the Education Department’s directive. For one, the notice says states and schools must certify that they don’t have “certain DEI practices” or “illegal DEI,” but it does not define DEI and “there are no federal or state laws prohibiting diversity, equity or inclusion.”
Sanders’ letter notes that a judge in a recent case found that the Trump administration’s definition of what constitutes an illegal DEI program is “anything but obvious.” Furthermore, Trump’s previous education secretary seemed to endorse DEI programs as “cornerstones of high organizational performance,” according to the letter.
The Illinois State Board of Education also asked the federal government to instruct it on its legal authority to tell school districts to sign such a certification.
Earlier, the feds in a Feb. 14 memo declared that any school or university policy that treats students or staff differently based on race is illegal and gave schools two weeks to eliminate programs or risk funding. It aimed to fight what the memo described as widespread discrimination in education, often against white and Asian American students. That was followed by an FAQ from the Education Department that moderated its positions.
Illinois recently found out it won’t be able to spend $77 million in federal COVID relief money as the federal government is clawing back its approval of unspent money. That money was going to be used for such things as transportation for homeless children and tutoring.
