Part 7 of the series Judicial Round Up – Corralling Cases That Affect Schools
Clinton M. Campion (Member, Clendaniel Heyman Campion)
This year our theme is Judicial Roundup! We are looking at court cases that impact school districts.
This month we are updating the status of the efforts of the U.S. Department of Education to eradicate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles in K-12 schools across the nation. The courts have decided that those efforts went too far because they initiated a “sea change” in educational practices.
On January 29, 2025, Donald Trump issued an executive order “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” in which the President vowed to “enforce the law to ensure that recipients of Federal funds providing K-12 education comply with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination in various contexts and protecting parental rights, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
On February 14, 2025, Acting Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights Craig Trainor issued a “Dear Colleague” Letter (https://www.ed.gov/media/document/dear-colleague-letter-sffa-v-harvard-109506.pdf) which was designed to “clarify and reaffirm the nondiscrimination obligations of schools and other entities that receive federal financial assistance from the United States Department of Education.”
The Letter explained that educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race in recent years through the “embrace” of pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and other forms of racial discrimination.” The Letter relied on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which “clarified that the use of racial preferences in college admissions is unlawful.”
On February 25, 2025, the American Federation of Teachers, along with the American Sociological Association, the Maryland AFT affiliate, and the Eugene Oregon School District filed a federal lawsuit in Maryland which challenged the guidance in the Letter. https://democracyforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Amended-Complaint-Eugene-4J.pdf
On April 3, 2025, Department of Education issued a “Reminder of Legal Obligations Undertaken in Exchange for Receiving Federal Financial Assistance and Request for Certification under Title VI and SFFA v. Harvard.”
This Reminder included a requirement for all state education agencies and local education agencies (school districts) to certify with the Department of Education that its programs comply with its interpretation of Title VI regarding DEI. The Reminder advised school districts that the certification was required for continued federal financial assistance.
The judge in the Maryland lawsuit decided on August 14, 2025, that the Letter and Certification Requirement were unlawful. She set aside the Letter and Certification Requirement because the Department of Education sought to “substantially alter the legal obligations of schools and educators without employing the procedures necessary to implement such a change,” which violated the Administrative Procedures Act and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. DCL-MSJ-opinipn.pdf
The judge explained “the government did not merely remind educators that discrimination is illegal: 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.”
The Department of Education appealed the decision of the Maryland Judge to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. But, on January 21, 2026, the Department of Education moved to dismiss its appeal of the Maryland ruling.
The decision to dismiss the appeal means the Letter and the Certification Requirement are not enforceable. The Department of Education has inserted language on the Letter and Certification Requirement that its Office for Civil Rights “will not take any enforcement action or otherwise implement” until further notice. This means that school districts are not required to certify to the Department of Education that their programs are free of DEI as interpreted in the Letter in order to continue to receive federal financial assistance.
It is no doubt challenging for school districts to navigate these ever-changing legal requirements. School districts must ensure educational programs and practices are free from discrimination. But, should a school district ignore nondiscrimination guidance from the United States Department of Education until a Court determines whether the guidance is lawful? Or should a school district follow such guidance and potentially violate the First Amendment rights of teachers? And how is a school district supposed to follow these cases as they are winding their way through the court system? In the Maryland case, seven to eight months passed between the Executive Order and Letter and the Court’s decision to set them aside.
With every Commentary we like to provide Practice Pointers. This month, we suggest the following to School Board Members and Administrators:
- Did your district submit a Certification to the Department of Education? If so, you may want to revisit the Certification in light of the Maryland ruling.
- Did your district revise any policies or end any programs in response to the Letter? If so, your district may want to revisit that decision in light of the ruling in Maryland.
- Has your district reviewed its nondiscrimination policy recently? If not, it may be time to do so.
