Trump threatens to kill federal funding to schools over DEI

The Trump administration is warning schools it could lose federal funding if it doesn’t do away with the consideration of race in scholarship or hiring, reports the New York Times.

The order sent out Friday is giving schools two weeks to comply.

The White House is using a Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admission v Harvard in justifying its decision.

However, court observers question whether that is a correct interpretation of the court’s ruling. The ruling said race could not be used in college admissions.

But ChalkBeat, a newsletter focused on education, says the court did not dive into the issue of scholarships or programs designed to give extra assistance to underrepresented groups. Legal experts say the White House take on the Supreme Court case is an “enormous leap.”

However, in a letter to the schools from Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights in the Education Department, he wrote many schools are practicing discrimination under the practice of “diversity, equity and inclusion.”

“But under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal,” 

The New York Times also reported that on Monday, the education department cancelled $600 million in funding for teacher training on critical race theory, social justice activism, anti-racism and “instruction on White privilege.”