'Dear Colleague' Trump order completely ignored by half of US states

Hilary Lustick, UMass Lowell

Donald Trump's aggressive assault on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools resulted in a letter sent to all school that receive funding that began with "Dear Colleague," and then made open threats.

But six months after it was delivered, almost half of U.S. have completely ignored it, an expert wrote for The Conversation.

Twenty-five states have completely refused to comply with his demands for the elimination of what he calls "pervasive and repugnant" racial preferences, Hilary Listick, associate professor or education at UMass Lowell, wrote.

The unprecedented February directive, followed by an April executive order titled "Reinstating Commonsense School Discipline Policy," threatens to strip federal funding from schools that maintain DEI-related discipline protocols — a move educational scholars are condemning as executive overreach.

"This is the first time an administration is issuing such a direct threat to withhold K-12 funding," warned Lustick.

The administration's crackdown specifically targets discipline practices that research shows help reduce racial disparities in punishment. These include having teachers engage students in conversations about behavior rather than immediately resorting to suspension — techniques proven to help close racial achievement gaps.

Trump's letter breaks new ground by being "written like a mandate and reinforced by an executive order," creating what some scholars call an "overreach" of legal authority. Unlike typical advisory letters, Trump's directive frames itself as law, setting a dangerous precedent for executive educational mandates without congressional approval.

The resistance has been swift and coordinated. Nineteen states sued the administration in April, resulting in a court injunction that temporarily released states from compliance requirements. Many refusing states used identical language in their responses, "signaling a concerted effort to resist Trump's directives," Lustick noted.

Massachusetts interim education commissioner Patrick Tutwiler defiantly declared that "Massachusetts will continue to promote diversity in our schools because we know it improves outcomes for all of our kids."

Connecticut's education commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker pointed out a fundamental legal flaw: for the federal government to cancel DEI programming, "it would have to first legally change the definition of Title VI" of the Civil Rights Act.

The administration characterizes DEI as "smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline," but crucially fails to define what actually constitutes DEI programming — leaving school districts vulnerable to funding cuts over undefined violations.

Despite Trump's threats, no funding has yet been withdrawn from non-compliant states.