By Michael Bielawski

The Trump Administration issued a 10-day warning to all public schools nationwide that they must comply with federal requirements to cut DEI-related initiatives from its programs/curricula or face losing federal funds. In response, the State of Vermont is doubling down and will continue such violations.

“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” ideology in a school means if a child believes for example that there are only two genders or that skin color is not a standard to judge their peers’ character, they could potentially see punishment from their school districts because both of those beliefs are contrary to DEI ideology. In recent years, DEI initiatives have exposed Vermont’s schools to at least one expensive lawsuit, and now it could mean the loss of massive federal funding for its schools.

According to the Trump Administration, “Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,” read an April 3 statement attributed to Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. “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.”

The warning also mentions the US Supreme Court’s decision concerning affirmative action in 2023. Sunday, April 13, would be 10 days after the warning. For the 2021-2022 school year, the Green Mountain State received 11.6% of its funds from the feds, according to USAfacts.org.

Legal precedent unfavorable to DEI

Title VI states that if a recipient of federal funds is found to have discriminated against a person or group based on any characteristic (not including gender identity), then that federal agency must “either initiate fund termination proceedings or refer the matter to the Department of Justice.”

This means that Vermont’s Agency of Education’s position to list on its website that “sexual orientation” is a protected status in its definition of “Educational equity” likely violates Title VI. One Vermont school has already paid out over $100,000 in a lawsuit for prioritizing sexual orientation over biological sex in its public bathroom policies.

Legal precedent from court cases across the nation further establishes that Vermont is positioning itself unfavorably if its pro-DEI stance were put to the scrutiny of courts.

“If professors lacked free-speech protections when teaching, a university would wield alarming power to compel ideological conformity,” read a decision by a federal judge in a dispute between a professor and a transgender student at Shawnee State University in Ohio. 

The decision continues, “A university president could require a pacifist to declare that war is just, a civil rights icon to condemn the Freedom Riders, a believer to deny the existence of God, or a Soviet émigré to address his students as ‘comrades.”

Reverse course

On Friday, the Agency warned that specific nondiscrimination standards must be met. They wrote, “[The Office of Civil Rights] will contact the school and will attempt to secure its willingness to negotiate a voluntary resolution agreement [if a violation is determined].”

Then, on Monday, the Agency reversed course, stating, “To be clear, the Agency of Education and the Attorney General’s Office continue to support diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in our schools. Our communication on Friday was intended to make you aware of the directive from the U.S. Department of Education regarding Title VI.,” Secretary of Education Zoie Saunders further doubled down that “to reinforce that diversity, equity, and inclusion practices are lawful and supported in Vermont. In no way, did AOE direct schools to ban DEI.”

Contrary to Biden Administration

In February, VDC reported that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) slashed $370 million in federal spending via the “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.”

“The Biden Administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government, in areas ranging from airline safety to the military,” the order states.

The Biden Administration’s 2021 order was called “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.” It stated, “Because advancing equity requires a systematic approach to embedding fairness in decision-making processes, executive departments and agencies must recognize and work to redress inequities in their policies and programs that serve as barriers to equal opportunity.”

The Trump Administration called the program shameful.

“The public release of these plans demonstrated immense public waste and shameful discrimination. That ends today. Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great,” they wrote in January.

Other blue states pushing back?

The New York State Department of Education stated that they are “not aware” of any federal law prohibiting the teaching of DEI principles.

They wrote, “We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems ‘diversity, equity & inclusion,’ but there are no federal or State laws prohibiting the principles of DEI.”

Folks not all supporting DEI

Newsweek reported on April 3 that Trump’s popularity – even within the Democrat party – is rising. And not all Vermonters are going along with the anti-Trump messaging popular in establishment media.

@VTDeservesMore wrote on X, “There have been quite a few false things printed about Trump in the liberal media, to the degree that I can’t take them seriously anymore. But I hope Trump shakes the wokeness and the DEI right out of this state. I hope he cuts federal funds for any states that breaks the law.”

The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle