Kentucky Dept. of Education: We have officially axed DEI programs
Kentucky Department of Education officials have signed a letter certifying it has axed all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, according to state education officials.
Kentucky Department of Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher said the federal directive was “not without issues. Nevertheless, I am confident that through our statewide commitment to providing opportunity and access for every student, we can advance towards meeting the needs and ensuring the success of each student in Kentucky’s public schools.”
Fletcher told public school superintendents about his decision in a Sunday email.
Fletcher also said local school districts have until April 18 to sign a similar letter to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights certifying the district has eliminated DEI initiatives.
The effort is part of President Donald Trump’s administration efforts to eliminate DEI initiatives across federal government, including in hiring, academics and honoring minority history and achievements.
“For those school districts that choose not to sign the Certification Form, KDE will propose no enforcement action to OCR on the grounds that the Certification Form does not comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,” Fletcher said in his email.
That act says that documents do not have to be signed if there is not an appropriate control number or a type of federal document number.
The April 3 letter from federal education officials requires state education leaders to certify within 10 days they are complying with federal civil rights laws the department claims prohibits diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. If state education departments fail to do so, they risk losing federal funding, the letter said.
The original deadline for schools and Kentucky Department of Education to sign the document was Monday. The U.S. Department of Education later extended the deadline to April 24.
“Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor in a news release in early April announcing the directive.
“When state education commissioners accept federal funds, they agree to abide by federal anti-discrimination 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.”
Title VI is part of the Civil Rights Act.
Kentucky schools receive more than $1 billion annually from the federal government, according to state budget documents. A large chunk of that money comes from the United States Department of Agriculture for school lunches.
In a separate move, the Department of Education also moved last week to yank federal funding from Maine after it refused to keep transgender athletes from competing in youth sports.
