Colleges and K-12 schools got a Valentine’s Day jolt when a U.S. Department of Education letter stated they had 14 days to end racebased policies and programs or risk loss of federal funding.
The attack on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, at both the federal and state levels is already having an impact.
Among recent examples:
• On Feb. 10, Ivy Tech Community College statewide announced it will close its Office of Diversity, Equity and Belonging effective March 12. The action was in response to executive orders at the federal level and proposed state legislation that put funding at risk. A total of 31 Ivy Tech positions statewide will be affected, including 21 that will be eliminated.
• The Pride Center of Terre Haute, which serves LGBTQ+ individuals, is suing Indiana State University contending its First Amendment rights are being violated because the university is refusing to allow Pride Fest 2025 to be conducted on campus. ISU held Pride Fest on the ISU campus in both 2023 and 2024.
Some individuals who have been outspoken about the importance of DEI in education are exercising greater caution and saying little publicly. “We have come around again to where citizens of the U.S. are afraid of speaking truth to power,” said Sylvester Edwards, president of the Terre Haute NAACP branch. Often, they worry that what they say could adversely impact funding for their organizations, he said. Russ Skiba, Indiana University professor emeritus and founder of the University Alliance for Racial Justice, says the anti-DEI movement “is taking us down a very scary path that essentially says we would freeze all civil rights initiatives in this state and country at the level they are at, which would freeze current levels of inequities that we have in our society.”
But Michel Hicks, Ball State University economics professor, believes DEI has gone astray, and now is a good opportunity to explore alternatives that would achieve the same or similar outcomes using a different approach, including initiatives that address income disparity and provide greater access to educational opportunities.
U.S. Department of Education: No more DEI
The Feb. 14 “Dear Colleague” letter was written by Craig Trainor, the U.S. Department of Education’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights. Educational institutions receiving federal funds were notified that they must “cease using race preferences and stereotypes as a factor in their admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, sanctions, discipline, and beyond,” according to a U.S. DOE news release. Trainor cited the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Student for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard, which determined that use of racial preferences in college admissions is unlawful.
According to Trainor, the court’s decision applies more broadly. “If an education 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,” the letter states.
The letter further states that “in recent years, American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families.” Trainer wrote, “These institutions’ embrace of pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and other forms of racial discrimination have emanated throughout every facet of academia.”
Trainor further alleged that schools have “toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism’ and advanced discriminatory policies and practices.”
The U.S. DOE “will vigorously enforce the law on equal terms as to all preschool, elementary, secondary and post-secondary educational institutions, as well as state educational agencies that receive financial assistance,” the letter stated.
Skiba says the Department of Education letter is “pushing the view that all efforts to assist anyone but the white majority represent discrimination against Whites. Like all of these efforts, there is not a shred of evidence in the DOE letter that actually documents the alleged harms brought about by diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
The U.S. DOE letter indicates it offers “guidance,” and does not have the force of law.
‘The threat of overreach’
Art Coleman, founding partner at EdCounsel LLC, a firm specializing in higher education law, told Inside Higher Ed that while the law has not changed, “What has changed is the threat of overreach and aggressive enforcement grounded in policy preferences, not legal standards.”
Education experts are advising K-12 school district leaders to consult with their lawyers over the new guidance, according to Education Week.
Meanwhile, at the Indiana Statehouse, Senate Bill 289 also has sought to crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion in schools and state government.
On Feb. 6, Senate Bill 289, authored by Sen. Gary Byrne (R-Bryneville) and Sen. Tyler Johnson (R-Leo) passed out of the Senate 34-13 after more than three hours of debate.
Key provisions prohibit mandatory DEI training in K-12 public schools and restrict DEI programs within state universities, according to Indiana Capital Chronicle. Byrne was not available for interviews, but provided the following statement: “I authored Senate Bill 289 because I believe the government should treat everyone equally and act transparently.
“SB 289 would accomplish that goal by making certain K-12 educational curriculum and public employee training materials more easily reviewable by the public and by protecting students from being forced to affirm discriminatory beliefs. It would also take steps to stop public institutions from using taxpayer dollars to fund offices or staff whose primary purpose is to promote discriminatory treatment … “Hoosiers come from many walks of life and many backgrounds, and it’s good to celebrate that. What I don’t want is the government to say that everyone with a certain trait should automatically get preferential or adverse treatment,” Byrne stated.
A ‘wicked ideology’?
Crystal Reynolds, a Vigo County historian, describes diversity, equity and inclusion as an all-encompassing term.
“It’s not just about race. It’s not just about ‘Black folk.’ … Yes, race is part of it, but race includes whites and Blacks and Asians and Hispanics, etc. But the beauty of diversity, equity, and inclusion is that it includes all those things that help us to be a society that meets the needs of its people,” she stated.
It includes such things as work accommodations for a variety of disabilities; ramps and sidewalk curb cuts; flexible work arrangements; and pay equity and transparency.
She believes the criticism of DEI focuses on the D or “diversity” aspect, and those fueling the current movement against DEI are “clearly on the wrong side of history.” The Chronicle of Higher Education is attempting to track changes that public colleges have made to offices, jobs, training, diversity statements, and other DEI -related activities as the result of bills, executive orders, system mandates, and other state-level actions since January 2023, according to the publication.
As of Feb. 14, it had tracked changes at 250 college campuses in 36 states.
As far as K-12, “Schools cannot survive without funding, so school corporations will have to follow an unjust law in order to achieve a greater goal, which is the schooling of our kids,” Reynolds stated. “But, what really motivates me is that as an historian and educator, I know that teachers are creative and they will find a way to educate about what makes this country so special— our diversity.”
Ethnic and cultural diversity is the soul of this country, Reynolds said.
According to Skiba, one conservative group has referred to DEI as “a wicked ideology.”
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith described DEI on social media as “forced ideological brainwashing in schools and workplaces” and “taxpayer-funded race hustling.” According to Skiba, things are being stated that aren’t true.
“In academia, we call that a moral panic. Someone that really wants to sway policy kind of makes up things and pushes it out again and again and again,” he said.
DEI “is not a wicked ideology. These are principles we as a society have chosen as important goals to be reached,” he said.
Diversity represents the idea that institutions and leadership “should be representative of who we are as a nation … It shouldn’t just be one group of people in charge of our institutions,” Skiba said.
In terms of equity, “We have restricted opportunities over the course of our history to only certain people in certain groups.” Equity means that all groups should have an equal opportunity to get there, he said.
“They should have access to the things that allow them to improve their status,” he said.
Inclusion initially focused on those with disabilities who were segregated, often in institutions that provided substandard care.
Inclusion meant “we are not going to accept that … they have a right to be part of our society.” Eventually, inclusion became generalized to include all groups, Skiba said.
DEI training “encourages people to reflect on the way they do things so we can become more equitable as a society and as a state,” he said.
Educators react
Reacting to the U.S. DOE guidance, Vigo County teacher Marie Theisz said she fears many professionals and educators will be walking on eggshells.
With funding already being a huge concern for corporations, she said, a threat to lose funding adds one more unnecessary stressor to doing what is best to educate students.
“The pulling of federal funding could impact some of our high needs schools and children if programs or staffing is cut,” said Theisz, who also is part of the Indiana State Teachers Association legislative action team. “Funds that support special education, reading resources for high needs students and schools, and school lunches could all be hit.”
In a Feb. 16 column, Michael Hicks, Ball State economist, writes that he is thankful the U.S. and Indiana are at a turning point in diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
“DEI training in many workplaces and universities devolved from honest efforts to explain differential outcomes by race or gender — things most Americans would benefit from learning — to racialist propaganda,” he wrote. “Thankfully, in most places, the worst of that is behind us.”
The end of DEI “should make those of us who distrusted it push for legal and fair policies to improve access to opportunity for all Americans,” he wrote.
In terms of education, the focus should be on programs that improve access to education for low-income students, he said, and he offers several suggestions.
“It is almost certain that these programs would be offered to a higher share of Black and Hispanic students than white students. But, they treat a poor white kid from rural Perry County the same as a poor Black kid from Gary,” he states.
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