Students make their way to class on the campus of University High School Charter in Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)California on Friday defied a Trump administration order to certify that the state's 1,000 school districts have ended all diversity, equity and inclusion programs despite federal threats to cut billions of dollars in education funding if the state does not comply.The U.S. Department of Education has given states until April 24 to collect certifications from every school district in the nation — confirming that all DEI efforts have been eliminated, as it contends such programs are a form of race-based discrimination and violate civil rights laws.
In a letter to school district superintendents Friday, the California Department of Education, or CDE, defended the legality of DEI efforts.
"There is nothing in state or federal law ... that outlaws the broad concepts of 'diversity,' 'equity,' or 'inclusion,'" wrote Chief Deputy Supt. David Schapira in the letter to school districts, county education offices and charter schools.
CDE also sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education about the decision not to comply — and said the federal request was vague."It is also unclear which specific programs or activities [the federal agency] seeks to regulate by this certification, although the request for certification references 'certain DEI practices' or 'illegal DEI.' It does not define such..."Although federal funding for education is challenging to calculate and arrives through multiple channels, some tallies put the figure at $16.3 billion per year in California — including money for school meals, students with disabilities and early education Head Start programs. The Los Angeles Unified School District has estimated that it receives about $1.26 billion a year, somewhat less than 10% of its annual budget.Sixteen states are attempting to comply with the order, including New Hampshire, North Carolina and Texas. Ten others have refused — including New York, Wisconsin and Oregon, according to a state-by-state tracker compiled by the news site Education Week.California's decision was foreshadowed by an April 4 letter to school leaders noting that school districts regularly and routinely affirm that they are complying with federal law and "have already submitted such assurances" and compliance is "monitored annually through ... multiple accounting mechanisms."