# Trump administration gave schools DEI ultimatum – then walked it back

## A top Education Department official denied the implication that the agency has shifted its guidance about racial diversity in schools.

**By:**   
**Published:** 7:07 p.m. ET March 3, 2025  
**Updated:** 2:34 p.m. ET March 4, 2025

In mid-February, the Trump administration told tens of thousands of K-12 schools and colleges they had until Feb. 28 to comply with a sweeping and vague order to root out diversity, equity and inclusion on their campuses.

Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Education issued new guidance softening that mandate and reversing course on some of its broadest requests.

In a “frequently asked questions” document posted Saturday morning after the deadline, the department's Office for Civil Rights walked back its directive, saying not all DEI initiatives actually violate the initial instructions.

A program or policy isn’t unlawful just because it uses the terms “diversity,” “equity” or “inclusion,” the new federal guidance says. Cultural and historical observances – including Black History Month and International Holocaust Remembrance Day – won’t be discouraged either.

Perhaps most notably, the Department of Education acknowledged the federal government doesn't have the power to dictate school curriculum.

In a statement to USA TODAY on Monday, Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said the “frequently asked questions” document issued over the weekend and the initial directions provide guidance on the law.

He denied the implication that the Department of Education had altered its policies.

“There has been no walk back,” he said.

## Feb. 14 mandate

Top agency officials sowed confusion nationwide when they announced last month that the Trump administration’s new interpretation of longstanding civil rights laws prohibited schools reliant on federal funding from considering race in a broad array of decisions related to American schooling. Included in the mandate were choices about “admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.”

Over the weeks since, universities have shuttered DEI offices, scrubbed websites, and ceased supporting some marginalized student groups. K-12 school districts from Kentucky to Montana have opened compliance audits into their practices.

A prominent teachers union sued the Trump administration challenging all changes last week.

Ray Li, an attorney in the Education Department's civil rights office during the Biden administration, called this weekend's clarification of its guidance a “retreat back to some legal standards.” It contrasts sharply, he said, with the administration’s initial posture, which he called “really troubling.”

“Hopefully, schools take that information and realize that just because something deals with race doesn’t mean it violates the law,” he said. “Even this administration recognizes that.”

## Education Department launches 'EndDEI' portal

Since Trump took office, the federal Department of Education has taken several steps to punish agency staffers and the schools they oversee for promoting diversity.

The most recent example came Thursday when the department launched a new online portal called EndDEI.Ed.Gov. The webpage’s purpose, according to an announcement, would be to encourage students and teachers to “submit reports of discrimination based on race or sex in publicly-funded K-12 schools.”

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