Office of Civil Rights Sends Letter to Shut Down DEI, Confirmation Hearing for Labor Secretary
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February 18, 2025
Leading the news this week:
Late on February 14, 2025, the Acting Assistant Secretary for the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, Craig Trainor, published a Dear Colleague letter indicating that federal funding may be removed from institutions of primary, secondary, and post-secondary education that are found to violate the Department’s interpretation of federal civil rights law, including by promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs deemed to discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
Moreover, this letter cites the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard as evidence that racial preferences in college admissions is unlawful and expands this decision to prohibit the consideration of race in activities such as “hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.”
Although not descriptive, the Department asserts that it plans to take steps to ensure compliance beginning 14 days after the publishing of the letter.
Finally, this letter does not suggest if it would make a distinction between funds given to programs and funds provided to individuals. It is unknown what the Trump administration plans for Pell Grant recipients attending higher education institutions that the administration deems to be incompliant.
Latest News in Higher Education
Lori Chavez-DeRemer's Confirmation Hearing Set for Feb. 19
Tomorrow at 10 AM EST the Senate Help, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will hold the confirmation hearing for President Trump's Labor Secretary nominee, Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Chavez De-Remer was a one term member of Congress from the state of Oregon who was in favor of labor unions and supported legislation that would make it easier for employees to unionize at the federal level.
On average, the public community college Pell Grant recipient is awarded $4,149, the lowest in comparison to Pell Grant averages from other institution types. Community colleges and tribal colleges tend to have the highest proportions of non-credit seeking enrollments in comparison to their counterparts.
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