Policies & Analysis

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has sued the Trump administration for issuing a series of directives collectively known as the “Title VI Documents,” which include a Dear Colleague Letter, a Frequently Asked Questions document, and a funding certification requirement. The NAACP alleges that these directives represent an unlawful reinterpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, one that undermines equal educational opportunities for Black students. The complaint asserts that the directives amount to final agency action taken without proper rulemaking, and that they intentionally discriminate against Black students, employ unconstitutionally vague terms, and infringe upon First Amendment rights to association and expression.

The Board of Education for Silver Consolidated Schools filed a suit against the Trump administration for revoking a $6 million grant awarded under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. They argue the termination, which followed the Department’s Dear Colleague Letter, violated multiple constitutional and statutory protections. Specifically, plaintiffs allege infringements of their First Amendment right to free speech and their Fifth Amendment right to due process. They also argue that the administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act and had arbitrary and capricious conduct.

A coalition of educators, teachers' unions, and the American Sociological Association have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education challenging a new policy that threatens to withhold funding from any educational institution that engages in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts or teaches accurate histories of race and slavery. Titled the "Dear Colleague Letter," this policy asserts that the 2023 Supreme Court opinion about race in college admissions prohibits all schools (pre-K through higher education) from any use of race in all aspects of "student, academic, and campus life." The plaintiffs argue that this interpretation of the law violates the plaintiffs' First Amendment right to free speech as well as their Fifth Amendment right to due process. The plaintiffs request that the court declare the policy unlawful and prevent it from being enforced.