By Michael Bielawski
Attorney General Charity Clark joined 19 other AGs in suing the federal government over its executive order to withhold federal funds over the state’s insistence to push “diversity, equity, and inclusion” school programs.
This is the 11th lawsuit taken on by Clark’s office against the Trump Administration since the new administration took office.
This latest suit submitted on Friday states, “Defendants have acted to unlawfully imperil more than $13.8 billion that are spent to educate our youth.” It also claims that the Administration is misinterpreting Title VI, which is U.S. law stating that no one should ever be judged or treated differently in any way for a job or service based on factors such as skin color, race, and so forth.
“The President has reached this conclusion by the way of an unsupported expansion of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Title VI in the college admissions context of Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023) (“SFFA”),” the suit states.
On April 3, the U.S. Department of Education informed states that they must be compliant with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in regards to any DEI efforts, or else risk losing federal education funds.
Skating on thin ice?
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) each released advisory documents focused on informing the public about the potential for unlawful discrimination related to DEI.
The report states, “Under Title VII, DEI initiatives, policies, programs, or practices may be unlawful if they involve an employer or other covered entity taking an employment action motivated—in whole or in part—by an employee’s or applicant’s race, sex, or another protected characteristic.”
EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas says, “Far too many employers defend certain types of race or sex preferences as good, provided they are motivated by business interests in ‘diversity, equity, or inclusion.’ But no matter an employer’s motive, there is no ‘good,’ or even acceptable, race or sex discrimination.”
Fostering “intergroup hostility and authoritarianism”
The first order by the White House concerning DEI was issued in January, and it explained some of the core oroblems with DEI-type programs receiving federal money. Their primary claim is that it violates federal law regarding civil rights.
“Reversing the progress made in the decades since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 toward a colorblind and competence-based workplace, radical DEI has dangerously tainted many of our critical businesses and influential institutions, including the federal government,” it states.
Also it goes into DEI’s impacts on the private sector: “many corporations and universities use DEI as an excuse for biased and unlawful employment practices and illegal admissions preferences, ignoring the fact that DEI’s foundational rhetoric and ideas foster intergroup hostility and authoritarianism.”
FOX News on Sunday reported the Trump Administration has succeeded to halt many DEI-related federal initiatives so far since the election.
“That move quickly forced those offices to take down all outward-facing media — websites, social media accounts, and more — for those DEI offices, and required the withdrawal of any final pending documents, directives, orders, materials, and equity plans.”
The report continued, “Trump also canceled current and impending contracts focused on DEI initiatives, with Elon Musk, who heads up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), saying that move saved the federal government $420 million.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle