President Donald Trump is making good on his promises to end “wokeness” in education. The Trump administration has issued a deadline of two weeks to U.S. public schools and universities to eradicate diversity initiatives or risk losing federal money, reports the Associated Press.
In a memo sent on Friday (Feb. 14), the education department gave universities and public schools an ultimatum to end using “racial preferences” as a determining factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring or other educational-related areas. Also, the memo claims that white and Asian students are subject to “rampant” discrimination in education.
The order threatens to radically change how university campuses and public schools operate classroom lessons and campus clubs.
Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights, gave the rationale behind the move.
“Schools have been operating on the pretext that selecting students for ‘diversity’ or similar euphemisms is not selecting them based on race,” Trainor said. “No longer. Students should be assessed according to merit, accomplishment and character.”
“Although SFFA [Students for Fair Admissions] addressed admissions decisions, the Supreme Court’s holding applies more broadly. At its core, the test is simple: If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that person’s race, the educational institution violates the law,” he continued.
In response to federal orders, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education and the American Association of University Professors filed a lawsuit against the administration, arguing that Trump is exceeding his authority.
“In his crusade to erase diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility from our country, President Trump cannot usurp Congress’ exclusive power of the purse, nor can he silence those who disagree with him by threatening them with the loss of federal funds and other enforcement actions,” the suit reads.
In his first week in office in January, Trump rescinded 78 of former President Biden’s executive actions and signed dozens of orders, memorandums and proclamations of his own. One executive signing ordered federal offices to place DEI employees on paid leave by 5 pm Wednesday (Jan. 22), claiming that “efforts to diversify the federal government were discriminatory.”
Sasha Pudelski, the group’s director of advocacy, the School Superintendents Association, noted that the new guidance “is not legally binding” and asked schools not to cut programs. She also added that any proposed cuts to funding would involve “lengthy investigations.”
“We’re not certain a district should do anything beyond reading the guidance, talking to their legal counsel and gauging community interest in keeping existing programs,” Pudelski said.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, more than 240 colleges in 36 states have eliminated some aspects of their initiatives, “including diversity offices or race-based affinity groups.”
