“A federal judge in Maryland has thrown out two Trump administration directives that threatened to cut federal funding from schools and universities maintaining diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs,” reports Campus Reform:
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, a Trump appointee, found Thursday that the department violated the law when it failed to comply with procedural requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
The memos, sent in February and April, told institutions that any consideration of race in admissions, financial aid, hiring, or academic life could trigger severe penalties, including loss of federal support and potential prosecution. The directives extended a 2023 Supreme Court ruling on race-conscious admissions into a broad ban on “race-based decision-making” across higher education.
The American Federation of Teachers sued to block the directives, calling them an unlawful overreach that imposed vague and subjective restrictions on educators nationwide.
Gallagher agreed and wrote that the guidance created “a sea change” in regulation, leaving “millions of educators” to fear punishment for lawful classroom speech. She emphasized her decision was purely procedural, taking no position on whether the policy itself was “good or bad.”
DEI efforts fuel censorship and violations of the First Amendment. A study by a California State University professor found that an increase in “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies at a college is linked to rising opposition to free speech.
“The rise of DEI bureaucracies has actually coincided with the beginning of a ‘Free-Speech Crisis on College Campuses,’” notes the study.
The study was by Kevin Wallsten, a political-science professor at California State University at Long Beach.
“It was clear from the start that, regardless of what was on their websites, DEI bureaucracies were more likely to suppress than encourage free expression on college campuses,” the study observes.
Under Biden, the Education Department issued a DEI rule for government grants, incentivizing the unconstitutional use of racial classifications.
Under the Biden administration, a study found that its vast DEI bureaucracy was harming our armed forces.
