Wisconsin’s refusal to eliminate woke diversity, equity, and inclusion programs could end up costing the state’s school systems over $800 million in federal funding.
MADISON, Wisconsin (LifeSiteNews) — The state of Wisconsin will not comply with a directive from the Trump administration requiring schools across the country to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, which promote LGBT ideology and treat students differently based on their race.
Wisconsin’s defiance could end up costing the state’s school systems over $800 million in federal funding.
On April 3, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) sent letters to state commissioners who oversee K-12 state education agencies (SEAs) requiring them to certify their compliance with their anti-discrimination obligations in order to continue receiving federal financial assistance.
“Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,” explained Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor in a statement. “When state education commissioners accept federal funds, they agree to abide by federal antidiscrimination requirements. Unfortunately, we have seen too many schools flout or outright violate these obligations, including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another based on identity characteristics in clear violation of Title VI.”
“Today, the Department is taking an important step toward ensuring that states understand – and comply with – their existing obligations under civil rights laws and Students v. Harvard,” said Trainor. “No student should be denied opportunities or treated differently because of his or her race. We hope all State and Local Education Agencies agree and certify their compliance with this legal and constitutional principle.”
Wisconsin State Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Dr. Jill Underly fired back a letter to the DOE demanding clarification, accusing the Trump administration of sacrificing the welfare of students to “political beliefs” by opposing wokeness.
“We cannot stand by while the current administration threatens our schools with unnecessary and potentially unlawful mandates based on political beliefs,” Underly said. “Our responsibility is to ensure Wisconsin students receive the best education possible, and that means allowing schools to make local decisions based on what is best for their kids and their communities.”
A letter from Wisconsin DPI’s general counsel to the DOE suggested that the directive was “unauthorized, unlawful, and constitutionally vague,” putting too much power over local school systems into the hands of the “federal bureaucracy.”
In February, Trainor wrote a “dear colleague” letter reminding schools and school systems across the nation of the “nondiscrimination obligations of schools” to receive federal financial assistance from the DOE.
He said that K-12 schools, colleges, and universities have embraced “pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences,” which are a “shameful echo of a darker period in this country’s history.”
“Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon 'systemic and structural racism' and advanced discriminatory policies and practices,” wrote Trainor. “Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them – particularly during the last four years – under the banner of 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' ('DEI'), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.”
“American education can be the greatest in the world,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon after taking the oath of office. “It ought not be corrupted by political ideologies, special interests, and unjust discrimination.”
“Parents, teachers, and students alike deserve better,” said McMahon.
