U.S. Department of Education gives states 10 days to certify they've ended DEI in schools | PA Senate passes bill requiring DAs to notify ICE if a criminal defendant is illegally in U.S.

The U.S. Department of Education announced on Thursday, April 3 that state education agencies (SEAs) have 10 days to certify that schools are complying with antidiscrimination laws and have no “illegal DEI practices” in order to continue receiving federal funding.

The Department said it is specifically “requesting certification of compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the responsibilities outlined in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.”

“Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right. When state education commissioners accept federal funds, they agree to abide by federal antidiscrimination requirements. Unfortunately, we have seen too many schools flout or outright violate these obligations, including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another based on identity characteristics in clear violation of Title VI,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. “Today, the Department is taking an important step toward ensuring that states understand—and comply with—their existing obligations under civil rights laws and Students v. Harvard. As Chief Justice Roberts wrote, ‘Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.’ No student should be denied opportunities or treated differently because of his or her race. We hope all State and Local Education Agencies agree and certify their compliance with this legal and constitutional principle.”

SEAs will be responsible for reporting on their state overall and for collecting certification responses from their Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and will have 10 days to sign and return the certification, the Department said.

The announcement also noted that on February 14, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) to educational institutions receiving federal funds notifying them that they must cease using race preferences and stereotypes as a factor in their admissions, hiring, promotion, scholarship, prizes, administrative support, sanctions, discipline, and other programs and activities. Two weeks later, OCR published Frequently Asked Questions to anticipate and answer questions that may arise in response to the DCL.

The certification letter does not specify which DEI practices can violate federal law.

In March, Governor Josh Shapiro of Abington said he will consider legal action if the executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education causes Pennsylvania to lose billions in federal funding for its schools.

In related news, the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill earlier this week that would require district attorneys to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if they encounter a criminal who’s in the country illegally.

The legislation passed 31 to 18. The bill now moves to the Pennsylvania House and ensures that “illegal immigrants who commit crimes don’t evade justice because of activist prosecutors.”

A Pennsylvania GOP statement released Wednesday said that “no district attorney should be allowed to ignore federal immigration laws and put politics ahead of protecting their communities.” It also noted that if Governor Josh Shapiro and Democrats oppose the bill, “they should explain why they’re more concerned about shielding criminal illegal immigrants than protecting law-abiding Pennsylvanians.”

U.S. Department of Education gives states 10 days to certify they’ve ended DEI in schools | PA Senate passes bill requiring DAs to notify ICE if a criminal defendant is illegally in U.S.