Some schools are resisting, as the Trump Administration shifts the federal regulatory landscape to overturn diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in schools receiving federal funding. Students caught between the Administration's regulatory moves and schools resisting those moves can face discipline and other issues. Retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Student Defense Team to safeguard your rights or the rights of your minor student. Call 888.535.3686 or use our contact form now for the skilled and experienced attorney representation you need.

DEI Ground Shifts

After campaigning to end DEI initiatives as violations of federal anti-discrimination rights, the Trump Administration has been busy making good on that promise. Early executive orders directed the Department of Education to terminate federal funding for schools unless they abandon unlawfully discriminatory DEI initiatives including gender ideology violating Title IX rights. The Department accordingly issued interpretive letters reinforcing the school obligations. The measures had the intent of restoring merit-based practices, while protecting girls and women in competitive sports.

Schools Scatter

Schools across the country took different approaches to the executive orders. Some districts and universities were swift to comply. They removed DEI statements from websites, examined programs across their campuses to ensure that none used race to restrict access, and required students to use bathrooms and join sports teams aligned with their biological sex rather than their professed gender. Determining what steps the federal measures required was a challenge, but many schools acted diligently, attempting to do so in good faith, even if only to respond that they didn't use DEI.

Some Districts Resist

Other school districts and universities, though, resisted the new federal measures, claiming that the measures were overbroad, vague, and ambiguous. They also claimed that their campuses were not discriminating unlawfully but instead recognizing student gender preferences and protecting student rights. In response, the Administration threatened enforcement actions terminating federal funding for the resisting school districts, including New York's Ithaca City School District, and universities, including Harvard University.

Caught in the Crossfire

Students, as always, are caught in the crossfire between their school districts, colleges, or universities, and the federal and state regulators promoting different policies, reaching different interpretations, and championing different rights. Either way, on whichever side their needs, interests, and activities fall, students may face disciplinary charges for attempting to exercise old, new, or disputed rights.

Safeguard Your Rights

If you find yourself or your minor student in the middle of a federal, state, or local school dispute over shifting civil rights, need help enforcing rights, or face disciplinary charges and need skilled defense, retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Student Defense Team. Call 888.535.3686 or use our contact form now for the help you need from our highly qualified attorneys. We help hundreds of students nationwide with successful representation on all kinds of issues.