Resources for Federal DEI—Dear Colleague Letter
On February 14th, the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to state education leaders threatening to withhold federal funding for schools, K-12 and higher education, that continue to operate what the letter fails to clearly define as "DEI." As we know, programs, instruction, and resources that support the diversity, equity, and inclusion of our students are essential for our learning. In collaboration with our coalition partners, we offer the following statements around this unprecedented and confusing federal overreach.
On March 1, 2025, the USDOE released a FAQ document to provide clarity and guidance on the Dear Colleague letter. This FAQ document has both a different tone and understanding of DEI, what the Washington Post says "narrows the definition of which types of diversity, equity and inclusion programs might draw scrutiny" and "adheres more closely to traditional court doctrines and interpretation of civil rights law". Once again, we encourage school leaders, educators, parents, and community members to stay true to what we know works for students rather than reacting too quickly to these federal attacks on public education.
On April 3, 2025, the USDOE mandated that all K-12 State Education Agencies (SEAs), including the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, and Local Education Agencies (LEAs), including every public school district in Ohio, certify their compliance with Title VI using a letter from the USDOE. Once again, this letter attempted to vaguely define diversity, equity, and inclusion as discriminatory. The certification letter included reference to the possibility of lawsuits under the False Claims Act, which allows anyone to file a lawsuit on behalf of the government. The USDOE gave SEAs and LEAs 10 days to sign the letter or risk losing federal funding.
The original 10-day deadline was extended to April 24, 2025, as a result of an agreement reached on April 9, 2025. Despite this national extension, ODEW did not extend its deadline for local districts to sign compliance, and instead kept its 11:59 PM on April 18, 2025, deadline in order to collect and compile all LEA letters to submit at 5:00 PM on April 24.
On April 24, as a result of several lawsuits around this issue, multiple federal judges blocked the certification letter, preventing any actions or consequences for SEAs or LEAs, whether they've signed the USDOE letter or not.
ODEW reported 15 school districts did not sign the letter. It was not clear how many districts signed alternative letters.
Honesty is especially proud of the following Ohio school districts for taking steps to minimize chaos and confusion created by the USDOE certification letter: Dayton, Cleveland Heights-University Heights, Columbus, Yellow Springs, and Cincinnati.
Additional Resources:
On March 1, 2025, the USDOE released a FAQ document to provide clarity and guidance on the Dear Colleague letter. This FAQ document has both a different tone and understanding of DEI, what the Washington Post says "narrows the definition of which types of diversity, equity and inclusion programs might draw scrutiny" and "adheres more closely to traditional court doctrines and interpretation of civil rights law". Once again, we encourage school leaders, educators, parents, and community members to stay true to what we know works for students rather than reacting too quickly to these federal attacks on public education.
On April 3, 2025, the USDOE mandated that all K-12 State Education Agencies (SEAs), including the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, and Local Education Agencies (LEAs), including every public school district in Ohio, certify their compliance with Title VI using a letter from the USDOE. Once again, this letter attempted to vaguely define diversity, equity, and inclusion as discriminatory. The certification letter included reference to the possibility of lawsuits under the False Claims Act, which allows anyone to file a lawsuit on behalf of the government. The USDOE gave SEAs and LEAs 10 days to sign the letter or risk losing federal funding.
The original 10-day deadline was extended to April 24, 2025, as a result of an agreement reached on April 9, 2025. Despite this national extension, ODEW did not extend its deadline for local districts to sign compliance, and instead kept its 11:59 PM on April 18, 2025, deadline in order to collect and compile all LEA letters to submit at 5:00 PM on April 24.
On April 24, as a result of several lawsuits around this issue, multiple federal judges blocked the certification letter, preventing any actions or consequences for SEAs or LEAs, whether they've signed the USDOE letter or not.
ODEW reported 15 school districts did not sign the letter. It was not clear how many districts signed alternative letters.
Honesty is especially proud of the following Ohio school districts for taking steps to minimize chaos and confusion created by the USDOE certification letter: Dayton, Cleveland Heights-University Heights, Columbus, Yellow Springs, and Cincinnati.
Additional Resources:
- Multistate Guidance for Schools on Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Accessibility Initiatives
- Response to the February 14th Dear Colleague Letter from our partners at the Sikh Coalition
Defending What Works: A Call to Action for School Leaders
The February 14, 2025, “Dear Colleague” letter from the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education (USED) threatens efforts to ensure every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential through individualized support and inclusive educational practices.
The letter is an attempt to reinterpret civil rights laws and redefine DEI initiatives in order to dismantle programming that is vital to the freedom to learn and to belong in our schools.
It is critical that board members and administrators know: “This guidance does not have the force and effect of law and does not bind the public or create new legal standards” (as stated in the letter’s footnote). For a detailed legal summary and analysis, we encourage you to review this statement from Art Coleman with Education Counsel, a national education consulting firm working with policymakers to significantly improve education for all students.
Instead of providing clarification, the USED letter presents one more distraction from the daily work of local educators to enable each child within their care to fulfill their potential.
The Real Threat: Losing Focus on Students' Individualized Needs
While these unprecedented federal attacks on education focus on vague and confusing statements about diversity, equity, and inclusion, real barriers to learning continue to go unaddressed. Most Ohioans and Americans agree schools are struggling with:
These are the issues that demand attention in order to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to succeed in learning and life.
Action Steps for School Leaders
Honesty for Ohio Education encourages school leaders to be bold in these challenging times and prioritize students’ needs. Inclusion for each student ultimately benefits all students. We must not allow fear mongering and confusion to dictate policy. School leaders should:
Our Way Forward
Now is the time to work for individualized supports that we know benefit children. Now more than ever, educators must protect inclusive education for all students, ensuring each child has access to the essential resources and individualized support they need to succeed.
As school leaders, we must stay strong, stay united, and keep fighting for every student.
The February 14, 2025, “Dear Colleague” letter from the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education (USED) threatens efforts to ensure every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential through individualized support and inclusive educational practices.
The letter is an attempt to reinterpret civil rights laws and redefine DEI initiatives in order to dismantle programming that is vital to the freedom to learn and to belong in our schools.
It is critical that board members and administrators know: “This guidance does not have the force and effect of law and does not bind the public or create new legal standards” (as stated in the letter’s footnote). For a detailed legal summary and analysis, we encourage you to review this statement from Art Coleman with Education Counsel, a national education consulting firm working with policymakers to significantly improve education for all students.
Instead of providing clarification, the USED letter presents one more distraction from the daily work of local educators to enable each child within their care to fulfill their potential.
The Real Threat: Losing Focus on Students' Individualized Needs
While these unprecedented federal attacks on education focus on vague and confusing statements about diversity, equity, and inclusion, real barriers to learning continue to go unaddressed. Most Ohioans and Americans agree schools are struggling with:
- Teacher shortages, especially in high-need districts.
- Gaps in school funding that disproportionately affect low-income and rural communities.
- Mental health crises, with fewer resources for student support services.
- Community wealth disparities, where students of color and economically disadvantaged students are less likely to have access to preschool, experienced teachers, advanced coursework, and other essential school resources.
These are the issues that demand attention in order to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to succeed in learning and life.
Action Steps for School Leaders
Honesty for Ohio Education encourages school leaders to be bold in these challenging times and prioritize students’ needs. Inclusion for each student ultimately benefits all students. We must not allow fear mongering and confusion to dictate policy. School leaders should:
- Stay the Course on Individual Access to Learning
- Do not abandon DEI programs out of fear. The letter does not change the law.
- Continue implementing research-backed strategies that support all students, including inclusive recruitment, mentorship programs, and individualized interventions and enrichments that enable each student’s access to learning.
- Educate Your Staff
- Clearly communicate to teachers, staff, and families that the letter is a political missive, not a legal mandate.
- Remind staff that the administration and board diligently review and revise school policies and procedures to ensure compliance with current law.
- Strengthen the Narrative Around Inclusion
- Proactively frame diversity, equity, and inclusion as an essential part of ensuring fair opportunities for every student. Supporting one child’s individualized learning does not take away from another child’s individualized learning.
- Emphasize that student success and well-being depend on learning environments where every student from any background can thrive.
- Push back against misinformation that labels all diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts as discriminatory—equity work is about removing barriers for each individual, not creating them.
- Conduct a Legal Risk Assessment
- Work with legal counsel to evaluate DEI-related policies and ensure they align with existing federal law and the SFFA ruling.
- Review policies to ensure they focus on equity-based student success measures, rather than explicit racial classifications.
- Monitor and Challenge Federal Overreach
- Stay informed about legal challenges to state and federal government overreach. Many of the administration’s education policies are being challenged through lawsuits, and courts have blocked similar measures in the past.
- Stay connected with education coalitions, advocacy groups, and legal experts challenging these policies in court, including Honesty for Ohio Education.
Our Way Forward
Now is the time to work for individualized supports that we know benefit children. Now more than ever, educators must protect inclusive education for all students, ensuring each child has access to the essential resources and individualized support they need to succeed.
As school leaders, we must stay strong, stay united, and keep fighting for every student.
Protecting our Schools and Our Children: A Call to Action for Parents and Community Members
As parents and community members, we want our schools to be places where every child regardless of race, background, ability, or zip code, has the resources and support they need to succeed. But recent moves by the federal government threaten to take us in the wrong direction.
On February 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter attacking programs that help ensure all students have access to high-quality education. Instead of addressing real issues like teacher shortages, mental health crises, school funding gaps, and poverty, this letter targets diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives—without even defining what DEI means.
Importantly, this letter, like many recent executive orders, is not a legal document, which it declares in its own subnote: “This guidance does not have the force and effect of law and does not bind the public or create new legal standards.”
The only goal of this letter is to create confusion, spread misinformation, and pressure schools to abandon programs that help students who need them most.
The Real Threat: Taking Resources Away from Students
This political attack on our schools is distracting from what matters: making sure every child has the tools and opportunities to thrive.
While federal officials focus on attacking programs that help children succeed, they have done nothing to address:
These are the real challenges our schools face. Instead of addressing them, federal officials are creating a crisis where there isn’t one—attacking programs that help level the playing field so that every student has a fair chance to succeed.
What Parents and Community Members Can Do
We cannot let political distractions get in the way of what’s best for our kids. Now is the time to stand up for our schools, our educators, and our students.
1. Speak Up for Our Schools
2. Get the Facts and Educate Others
3. Hold Decision-Makers Accountable
Conclusion: Our Kids Deserve Better
This fight shouldn’t be about politics—it’s about our kids. Every child deserves a great education, and that means making sure schools have the tools and resources to support them. We cannot let political pressure erase programs that help students succeed.
Now is the time to stand strong, stay united, and protect the future of our children’s education. We must work together to ensure that every child, in every community, has the opportunities they need to thrive.
As parents and community members, we want our schools to be places where every child regardless of race, background, ability, or zip code, has the resources and support they need to succeed. But recent moves by the federal government threaten to take us in the wrong direction.
On February 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter attacking programs that help ensure all students have access to high-quality education. Instead of addressing real issues like teacher shortages, mental health crises, school funding gaps, and poverty, this letter targets diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives—without even defining what DEI means.
Importantly, this letter, like many recent executive orders, is not a legal document, which it declares in its own subnote: “This guidance does not have the force and effect of law and does not bind the public or create new legal standards.”
The only goal of this letter is to create confusion, spread misinformation, and pressure schools to abandon programs that help students who need them most.
The Real Threat: Taking Resources Away from Students
This political attack on our schools is distracting from what matters: making sure every child has the tools and opportunities to thrive.
While federal officials focus on attacking programs that help children succeed, they have done nothing to address:
- Severe teacher shortages, especially in rural and underserved communities.
- Gaps in school funding, which leave many children without the same access to advanced classes, experienced teachers, and school supplies.
- The growing mental health crisis, where students struggle without enough school counselors or mental health resources.
- Community wealth disparities, which impact students' ability to access preschool, tutoring, and extracurricular opportunities.
These are the real challenges our schools face. Instead of addressing them, federal officials are creating a crisis where there isn’t one—attacking programs that help level the playing field so that every student has a fair chance to succeed.
What Parents and Community Members Can Do
We cannot let political distractions get in the way of what’s best for our kids. Now is the time to stand up for our schools, our educators, and our students.
1. Speak Up for Our Schools
- Tell school leaders you support programs that help every child succeed.
- Attend school board meetings and push back against misinformation—equity and inclusion don’t harm students; they help them.
- Encourage educators to continue their important work—they need to hear from parents and community members who stand with them.
2. Get the Facts and Educate Others
- The Dear Colleague letter is NOT a law—it does not have legal power to force schools to end DEI programs.
- Equity in education is about fairness, not favoritism—it ensures every child gets what they need to succeed, whether they are gifted learners, students with disabilities, or children facing economic hardship.
- Misinformation is dangerous—help spread the truth about what’s really happening in our schools.
3. Hold Decision-Makers Accountable
- Demand that elected officials focus on real education issues, like fixing school funding gaps, hiring more teachers, and expanding student mental health services.
- Watch for attempts to cut funding to schools that don’t comply with this political agenda—we must fight to protect our local schools.
- Join with advocacy groups and other parents to ensure our children’s education isn’t used as a political pawn.
Conclusion: Our Kids Deserve Better
This fight shouldn’t be about politics—it’s about our kids. Every child deserves a great education, and that means making sure schools have the tools and resources to support them. We cannot let political pressure erase programs that help students succeed.
Now is the time to stand strong, stay united, and protect the future of our children’s education. We must work together to ensure that every child, in every community, has the opportunities they need to thrive.