Judge Blocks Much of DJT Effort to Pull Funding from K-12 Schools with DEI Programs

Federal District Court Judge Landya McCafferty in the District of New Hampshire issued a preliminary injunction to block Donald Trump’s regime from cutting off federal funds for Kindergarten-12th grade public schools that have diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The case was brought against the Department of Education and its Secretary Linda McMahon by the National Education Association, American Civil Liberties Union and Center for Black Educator Development after the Department of Education sent a letter to academic institutions. It threatened to stop funding for schools where “decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life” have diversity, equity and inclusion facets.

The opening paragraph of McCafferty’s ruling laid out the importance of academic freedom, robust exchange of ideas and diversity of ideas in academic pursuits with quotations from other court cases. It finished with “In this case, the court reviews action by the executive branch that threatens to erode [these] foundational principles.” After that, the ruling was scathing.

Her two main points were that the vagueness of the letter would force schools to sweep out any hint of anything the Department might interpret as DEI, and that the letter targets speech based on viewpoint which violates First Amendment rights to freedom of speech.

McCafferty’s order is not national in scope, but does reach beyond the District of New Hampshire. She barred the Trump regime from holding back federal funds over diversity, equity and inclusion programs atany school or institution that employs or contracts with the plaintiffs.

• National Education Association is the largest labor union in the USA. It represents staff at public schools and colleges. The breadth of its membership extends the impact of the ruling to most school districts.
• American Civil Liberties Union is a non-profit organization that defends constitutional rights. It is routinely involved in high profile lawsuits against government and is especially active now.
• Center for Black Educator Development is a non-profit to promote recruitment and training of Black teachers. McCafferty said the actions combatted by the lawsuit threaten the group’s “very existence.”

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