A federal District Court in Maryland (Stephanie A. Gallagher) has ruled that the Department of Education’s “Dear Colleague” letter to states and school districts receiving governmental funding, which required recipients to comply with the Administration’s requirements to eliminate programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion, is unconstitutional and illegal. The Court had previously stayed the enforcement of the February 14 letter (See Nonprofit Issues®, Vol. XXXV No. 3.) and has now ruled that it is ineffective and must be “vacated.”
The Court has held that the statement of the Administration’s position on DEI was promulgated in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act and that the Administration’s position against DEI is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment rights of free speech. “The government cannot proclaim that it ‘will no longer tolerate’ speech it dislikes because of its ‘motivating ideology,’” the Court said. “That is a blatant and egregious violation of the First Amendment.”
The Court also held that the letter is unconstitutionally vague because it “does not provide any clarity on what DEI practices are impermissible” and that the requirement of recipients to certify that they do not engage in “illegal DEI practices” is unconstitutionally vague in violation of the Fifth Amendment.
The case was brought by the American Federation of Teachers, its Maryland affiliate, the American Sociological Society, and a public school district in Oregon. (American Federation of Teachers v. Department of Education, D. MD, No. 25-628, 8/14/25.)
You Need to Know…. This is a significant decision that, if affirmed and followed, should provide some protection for all nonprofits being challenged because they have positions on DEI that are different from the Administration’s.
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