Why Should Delaware Care?
Federal education funds account for 10% of the Delaware Department of Education’s revenue. Earlier this month, states were told they have until April 24 to certify that their public schools do not incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs or risk that funding.
In early April, the Trump administration sent letters to states demanding they certify that their public schools comply with federal officials’ interpretation of discrimination law and eliminate programs centered around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Failure to do so would result in schools losing federal education dollars, according to the letter – which, for Delaware, amounts to more than $300 million annually.
On Tuesday, Delaware responded to the federal demand with a letter from Secretary of Education Cindy Marten that declared that the state’s public schools comply with federal laws that protect students from discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.
The letter did not mention school programs that center on diversity, equity and inclusion, and so it is unclear whether Marten’s intention is to preserve those programs in Delaware or cut them.
The Trump administration has asserted that such DEI programs violate federal law.
Asked for clarity on the question, Allison May, a spokesperson for the Delaware Department of Education, simply referred Spotlight Delaware back to the letter sent to the federal government.
“DDOE and our subgrantees are committed to ensuring that every student has access to a quality education, free from discriminatory practices and policies and consistent with all applicable federal laws,” Marten wrote in the letter.
Marten further stated in the letter that the Delaware Department of Education routinely informs public school officials of their responsibilities under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which protects students from race-based discrimination.
Marten’s letter followed a Delaware State Board of Education meeting last week where she first indicated that she was “leaning toward” submitting a certification to the Trump administration because, she argued, Delaware has always been in compliance with federal laws.
During the meeting, Marten also did not make any mention of DEI programs in Delaware schools. She did note that the federal government’s demand included references to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended affirmative action in college admissions.
Although she sent the letter to the Trump administration, Marten does not appear to have included in her response a fillable certification form that had been preformatted by federal education officials.
Asked if Marten signed the certification form, May said Marten’s letter is the state’s response to the U.S. Department of Education.
Other states like California have expressed similar sentiments.
In a letter to school district superintendents, the California Department of Education wrote that the state’s districts comply with federal law and “have already submitted such assurances.”
Marten’s response to the Trump administration comes a week after Gov. Matt Meyer offered an odd response when Spotlight Delaware asked whether his administration would comply with the demand.
Meyer appeared to make a joke by applying new terminology to the DEI acronym while further stating that Delaware will “treat everyone in our schools with respect,” and will “protect the most vulnerable.”
Before the federal government issued the ultimatum earlier this month, it sent states a letter on Feb. 14 that asserted that public schools in the United States in recent years have embraced “pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and other forms of racial discrimination.”
The letter concluded that public schools “that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding.”
In response to that February letter, the National Education Association – the nation’s largest teachers’ union – sued the Trump administration, arguing that the threat to cut school funding amounted to “new interpretations of law unsupported by statutory provisions, court decisions, or any articulated reasoning.”
In their suit, the National Education Association argued that the February letter “drastically disrupts” teachers’ ability “to provide education to students in accordance with professional requirements and best practices.”
“Their member educators have long engaged in education in accordance with requirements of equity and inclusion as set out in civil rights laws,” the lawsuit stated.
In response to the lawsuit and subsequent filings, a federal judge blocked the U.S. Department of Education from taking any enforcement action on matters of DEI until at least April 24.
