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Feb. 19, 2025
DEEP DIVE: Overreaching and Misleading: An Analysis of the U.S. Department of Education’s February 14, 2025, “Dear Colleague” Letter on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policies and Programs
On February 14, 2025, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter regarding the Trump Administration’s approach to civil rights enforcement in education, from preschool through higher education. In this publication, EducationCounsel’s Art Coleman analyzes the Acting Assistant Secretary’s correspondence, and makes it clear that:
- Not all diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programs are unlawful, as the letter suggests;
- The letter’s rendering of the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College is both skewed and incomplete; and
- The Administration’s threat of civil rights enforcement is undercut by the ambiguity of the correspondence, which itself acknowledges that “Dear Colleague” letters lack the “force and effect” of law.
Coleman concludes with suggestions for education leaders to consider moving forward.
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