Overview:
This latest federal guidance tells colleges to end any and all diversity, equity and inclusion work or risk losing federal funding.
The latest directive from President Donald Trump’s administration is telling colleges in Ohio and across the country they should immediately stop all of their diversity, equity and inclusion work — or risk losing federal funding.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights delivered that message to school leaders on Friday in the form of a “Dear Colleague” letter. Federal agencies use these letters to explain their interpretation of existing regulations, but the letters aren’t law.
“The uncertainty we’re facing in this area, and numerous others, is unsettling,” Case Western Reserve University president Eric Kaler wrote in a campus-wide email Tuesday.
This guidance attempts to expand on the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled it’s unconstitutional for schools to consider race in the admissions process.
The Education Department’s guidance goes further by declaring race can’t be used as a factor when awarding scholarships, providing student housing or “all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.”
“Put simply, educational institutions may neither separate or segregate students based on race, nor distribute benefits or burdens based on race,” Craig Trainor, the department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, wrote in the letter. “Although some programs may appear neutral on their face, a closer look reveals that they are, in fact, motivated by racial considerations.”
Several Ohio Institutions are now reviewing how practices could run afoul of the Trump administration’s views on DEI. Case Western Reserve, for example, noted that it determined its admissions and financial aid processes align with this new guidance “because of the extensive work done following the 2023 Supreme Court ruling.”
Federal education officials said they will begin compliance checks no later than Feb. 28.
Kent State president indicates changes will come
Similar to the anti-DEI language in a higher education bill making its way through the Ohio Statehouse, the federal letter’s language is broad. It could leave some colleges and universities unsure how to respond, particularly since it isn’t a change in law.
The federal guidance does specifically call out universities that host race-specific graduation ceremonies. That means Kent State University’s current pre-commencement celebration for students of color could be scrutinized.
The university didn’t respond to Signal Ohio’s questions about the future of that program or what other specific services would need to be modified or closed. It instead pointed to an email university president Todd Diacon sent to his campus Tuesday.
“How we will be allowed to care for each other is likely going to change because of impending state and federal mandates,” Diacon wrote.
Kent State, a public university, and the private Case Western Reserve offered different tones about the news in their respective letters. Diacon’s was just four paragraphs. It acknowledged the impending changes with neutral language and that the university would “continue on our course of access, kindness and respect.”
CWRU’s Kaler was more blunt. He described the latest Trump administration’s letter as an apparent “gross overreach” of the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision and one that could face legal challenges.
Ohio State already looking at DEI work
An Ohio State University spokesperson told Signal Ohio it’s “too soon” to speculate on the possible implications for specific programs. The university “will, of course, follow the law,” the school added.
The state’s flagship university currently offers lots of programming and clubs that could be affected by this guidance. That list includes its Black Graduate and Professional Student Caucus and its Pilipino Student Association.
Current qualifications for its merit-based Morrill Scholarship Program include looking for students who will “contribute to campus diversity,” though officials underscored this specific scholarship is “open to students of any background.”
Ohio State President Ted Carter and other senior leaders recently wrote to their campus community before this latest federal guidance was issued. They said the university is evaluating all DEI-related programming, initiatives and projects as well as jobs and duties.
The goal, they said, is to be “positioned to make changes if state or federal law requires it or if we decide a different approach is in the university’s best interests.”
National leaders caution against “anticipatory compliance”
One national education leader is advising colleges to take a beat before moving forward.
Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, cautioned college leaders to not engage in “over-compliance” or “anticipatory compliance” on a webinar attended by 5,000 people from colleges across the country Tuesday.
“To be abundantly clear, Dear Colleague letters are not law…If on Thursday, you were in compliance with law, you are still in compliance with the law,” he said.
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