After outcry, Education Department walks back diversity guidance

One expert called the new approach ‘downright reasonable,’ but the AFT’s Randi Weingarten said it ‘just made things murkier.’

This story first appeared at The 74, a nonprofit news site covering education.

After casting doubt on almost everything schools do to foster racial diversity in a Feb. 14 letter to schools, the U.S. Department of Education appears to have walked back the tone — and much of the substance — of its message.

Experts consider a Q&A document released by the department late Friday to be more in line with how the courts’ have traditionally viewed illegal discrimination.

“This is such a far cry from what they put out two weeks ago,” said Jackie Wernz, a civil rights attorney and consultant who worked in both the Obama and first Trump administrations. “It’s downright reasonable.”

Now anything labelled DEI will not be automatically labeled illegal.

Part of the Trump administration’s larger effort to root out diversity, equity and inclusion,  the original letter called diversity a “nebulous” goal and warned that districts could be subject to investigations for treating “students differently on the basis of race.” It prompted opposition from governors, district leaders and education organizations. And it left some educators wondering how to handle topics like Black History Month.

The Q&A, however, asserts that officials would not automatically consider anything labelled DEI to be illegal and would examine as part of its investigations whether a policy actually resulted in discrimination against students. Cultural and historical observances are fine, the document says, as long as all students are welcome to participate, regardless of race.

[Related: ‘As inclusive as we’ve always been’: Districts resist Ed Dept’s warning on race]

“They were trying to see how far they could go, and then they got the pushback,” Wernz said, noting the timing of the department’s guidance. “I love that they say you can celebrate Black history at the end of the month.”

In a blog post on the changes, Wernz noted that the department clarified that it would need evidence that a particular racial group was harmed before it decided to launch an investigation. But she still warned districts to avoid lessons that separate students by race or assignments that ask them to identify their race.

[Related: Stunned education researchers say cuts go beyond DEI, hitting math, literacy]

Neeraja Deshpande, a policy analyst at the conservative Independent Women’s Forum, said there was no need to walk back any instructions to districts.

“I don’t think the earlier letter needed to be softened,” she said. “But of course school districts were going to have questions and this seemed to answer them.”

‘Vagueness, Confusion and Chaos’

The department is still likely to get wide-ranging reports of what members of the public consider “divisive ideologies and indoctrination.” The EndDEI portal it unveiled last week doesn’t define what the department considers to be illegal discrimination.

The additional guidance hasn’t prompted the American Federation of Teachers to drop its federal lawsuit over the original letter. In a statement, AFT President Randi Weingarten said that the Q&A, “just made things murkier.”

Last week, the union, along with AFT-Maryland and the American Sociological Association, sued, saying the letter appeared to ban the teaching of “systemic and structural racism” in American history.

Teachers still have no idea what they can or can’t teach.

The lawsuit says the teachers would be afraid to discuss Jim Crow laws, the internment of Japanese Americans and other examples of historical discrimination.

The Q&A doesn’t discuss how teachers should approach lessons on history and only says, “OCR’s assessment of school policies and programs depends on the facts and circumstances of each case.”

“If you are a classroom teacher, you still have no idea what you can or can’t teach when it comes to the history of the United States and the world,” Weingarten  said. “It seems like vagueness, confusion and chaos is the point.”

[Related Grant Opportunity: Improving community equity using data project grants]

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Linda Jacobson is a California-based senior writer for The 74, covering Congress, policy, courts, early education and more. Prior to The 74, she spent three years reporting for the Education Dive, and also wrote a monthly column on research, policy and practices related to young children. Previously, Jacobson covered schools for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, worked as a reporter and associate editor at Education Week, and served as assistant director of the Education Writers Association.

The 74 is a nonprofit news organization covering America’s education system from early childhood through college and career. The 74 is dedicated to examining the issues impacting the education of America’s 74 million children — and the effectiveness of the system that delivers it. The 74 centers their reporting on the teachers, innovators, researchers, school leaders and politicians who shape that education, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Their mission is to lead an honest, fact-based conversation about how to give American students the skills, support and social mobility they deserve. Backed by data, investigation, and expertise. Sign up for free newsletters from The 74.