Girls on the Run, Continued...
A follow up to the nasty grams sent out by the DOE demanding that K-12 educators who receive federal funding certify no illegal DEI practices.
Remember when we published a piece about the administration’s certification request to schools for DEI practices? Well, the saga continues, and once again, we were right. It was one big nothing burger, and thankfully, the courts agree.
Back up. What did they do again?
On January 20, 2025, the Trump administration issued an Executive Order calling for the termination of DEI programs and preferencing. Following suit, on February 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a nasty gram they call a Dear Colleague Letter directing federally funded educational institutions to cease race-based practices in admissions, hiring, scholarships, discipline, and other campus activities, pursuant to the Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which found that race-conscious admissions violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), however, did not provide any clarifying guidance on what exactly the Department interprets as an impermissible DEI practice, leaving schools as puzzled as ever.
Perhaps recognizing that the DCL raised more questions than it answered, OCR released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document on March 1, 2025, to clarify the DCL. The FAQs provided slightly better guidance, but still left schools scratching their proverbial heads, not knowing whether they had to scrap all diversity programs altogether.
To tighten the screws even further, on April 3, 2025, OCR sent letters to State Commissioners overseeing K-12 Stat Education Agencies, requiring them to certify their compliance with Title VI with regard to DEI, to continue receiving federal financial assistance.
Before you read on, let’s remind you what our position was about this back when these letters were first issued:
This certification is truly nothing more than a “nothing burger,” albeit a threatening one. Any institution, school, agency, or organization who receives federal funding always has to abide by federal laws. That is not new. Nor do they need to send or sign a certification like this one to be held to obeying federal laws.
That being said, this letter may be viewed by some school administrators as a threat. It may have the intended effect of schools wiping their curriculum clean of any DEI initiatives. Some schools may even go so far as to ban extracurricular activities, clubs, or programs out of fear of having their federal funding revoked.
For my daughter’s sake, please don’t get rid of programs like Girls on the Run out of fear of retribution. Just make sure that any and all programs are open to all, no matter someone’s race or gender.
Spoiler alert… the girls can still run.
Lawsuits
In a not-so-shocking turn of events, lawsuits were filed. Three separate lawsuits were filed. In the first, a coalition of 19 states filed lawsuits challenging the Department’s threats to withhold federal funding from schools that maintain DEI programs. These states argue that such actions are unlawful and jeopardize essential educational services.
The ACLU and National Education Association also filed a lawsuit against the Department, contending that the DCL FAQs and certification imposes unfounded and vague legal restrictions that violate due process and the First Amendment, impermissibly limits academic freedom and impermissibly dictates what educators can teach and what students are allowed to learn.
Last, the Legal Defense Fund, a prominent civil rights organization, has sued the Department of Education over its efforts to defund DEI initiatives in K-12 public schools. The lawsuit argues that these actions undermine educational equity and violate civil rights protections.
Three Judges Rule Against the Department
In a (yet another) blow to the Trump administration, three judges ruled against the Department, including two Trump appointees. U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty said in her opinion that the Department’s actions are “textbook viewpoint discrimination,” in likely violation of the First Amendment. She and another judge (U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich) –a Trump appointee – concluded that the DCL and FAQs was unconstitutionally vague, and that OCR had not followed the required procedural steps to implement new policy. Friedrich said that the DCL failed to “delineate between a lawful DEI practice and an unlawful one.” Similarly, the third judge – another Trump appointee – concluded that the DCL did not follow the procedural requirements for implementing new agency policy.
Real Law Mom Take
Girls on the Run is safe. At least, for now. No doubt, the Trump administration will appeal the court decisions. But, it’s not looking so good for them, particularly now that the bench for U.S. Attorneys to defend the U.S. Government is looking pretty slim these days! But for now, schools can breathe a momentary sigh of relief and forge forward with their DEI programming.