A federal judge has struck down two Trump administration directives that sought to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the nation’s schools and universities — a significant blow to the former president’s long-running campaign against such programs.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, appointed by Donald Trump and serving in Maryland, ruled on Thursday that the Department of Education unlawfully threatened to withhold federal funding from institutions that continued DEI practices. The decision follows months of legal battles and comes after several judges temporarily blocked portions of the administration’s guidance earlier this year.
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The case was brought by the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association, represented by the advocacy group Democracy Forward, which argued that the directives were unconstitutional and harmful to educators and students alike.
At the center of the lawsuit were two memos issued by the Department of Education earlier this year:
- The February Memo: Declared that any use of race in admissions, hiring, financial aid, or academic programs would be treated as a violation of civil rights law. This broadened the scope of the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that barred affirmative action in admissions, expanding it to all aspects of education.
- The April Memo: Ordered state education agencies to certify they were not using “illegal DEI practices.” Institutions that failed to comply risked losing federal funds and potential prosecution under the False Claims Act.
Critics said the memos represented an unprecedented expansion of federal power over education and sought to redefine civil rights protections in ways that undermined efforts to address longstanding racial inequities.
Judge Gallagher concluded that the department had bypassed procedural requirements, making the directives unlawful. While she did not weigh in on whether DEI policies were “good or bad, prudent or foolish, fair or unfair,” she emphasized that the Education Department’s guidance effectively created sweeping new regulations without following proper rulemaking processes.
“It initiated a sea change in how the Department of Education regulates educational practices and classroom conduct, causing millions of educators to reasonably fear that their lawful, and even beneficial, speech might cause them or their schools to be punished,” Gallagher wrote.
The ruling orders the Education Department to rescind the guidance.
Democracy Forward, which represented the plaintiffs, hailed the ruling as a major victory against what they described as an “ideological war on education.”
“Threatening teachers and sowing chaos in schools throughout America is part of the administration’s attack on DEI,” said Skye Perryman, Democracy Forward’s president and CEO. “Today the people won.”
The Education Department expressed disappointment but insisted it would continue enforcing federal anti-discrimination protections under Title VI. “Judicial action enjoining or setting aside this guidance has not stopped our ability to enforce Title VI protections for students at an unprecedented level,” the department said in a statement.
The memos were part of a broader push by Trump-aligned officials to root out DEI initiatives, which they argue constitute “reverse discrimination” against white and Asian American students. Acting Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor, in the February memo, accused schools of “indoctrinating students with the false premise that the United States is built upon systemic and structural racism.”
Education groups, civil rights advocates, and numerous states condemned the directives, saying they effectively censored educators and stripped institutions of the ability to address disparities in opportunity.
The lawsuit described the policies as “unclear and highly subjective,” leaving teachers and professors in a dangerous position — forced to either chill their constitutionally protected speech and teaching practices or risk losing federal funding and facing federal prosecution.
While the ruling dismantles the Trump-era directives, the battle over DEI in education is far from over. With court cases, state-level bans, and political campaigns targeting DEI nationwide, the issue is expected to remain a flashpoint heading into the 2024 elections and beyond.
For now, however, Judge Gallagher’s decision is being viewed as a significant affirmation of educators’ rights to teach, discuss, and address issues of race and inequality without fear of losing critical federal support.
