Teachers Union Sues Education Department Over Anti-DEI Policy

The American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association sued the U.S. Department of Education on Feb. 25 over a letter warning that schools could lose federal funding if they did not cease their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs within 14 days. In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Maryland, the plaintiffs said the Education Department’s Feb. 14 letter violates the First and Fifth Amendments. They asked the judge to declare the policy unconstitutional and bar federal officials from enforcing the directive. In the letter, Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights within the department, condemned what he described as “overt and covert racial discrimination” in K–12 schools and universities, adding that proponents of such “discriminatory practices” have attempted to further justify them under the banner of DEI over the past four years....