New York state officials have firmly rejected a directive from the Trump administration to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in public schools, despite threats that federal education funding could be cut off in retaliation.
In a sharply worded letter dated Friday, Daniel Morton-Bentley, counsel and deputy commissioner for the New York State Education Department (NYSED), asserted that the federal government lacks the legal authority to mandate such changes. Addressed to the U.S. Department of Education, the letter accused the administration of attempting to “censor anything it deems ‘diversity, equity & inclusion.’”
“There are no federal or state laws prohibiting the principles of DEI,” Morton-Bentley wrote, signaling the state’s refusal to comply with the demand to dismantle programs that promote inclusion in schools.
RELATED STORIES
The letter followed a Thursday order from the federal Department of Education requiring K-12 schools across the country to certify within 10 days that they are not implementing discriminatory DEI practices. The Trump administration claims this certification is necessary for continued receipt of federal education funds, which make up approximately 6% of New York’s K-12 education budget.
Watch a recent episode of The BreakDown podcast below and subscribe to our channel PanaGenius TV for latest episodes.
“Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,” said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, defending the move. He accused many schools of violating civil rights laws “by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another.”
The administration’s notice, which spans several pages of legal interpretation, demands school leaders acknowledge that their funding is conditional upon strict adherence to federal civil rights statutes. Title I funding—which supports schools in low-income areas and distributes billions of dollars annually—is specifically cited as vulnerable to withdrawal.
But Morton-Bentley pushed back hard, calling the move an overreach rooted in a “faulty legal interpretation.” He noted that New York has repeatedly certified compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, most recently in January, and that the federal government already possesses those assurances.
“Given the fact that you are already in possession of guarantees by NYSED that it has and will comply with Title VI, no further certification will be forthcoming,” he wrote.
READ ALSO: Few schools publicly rush to comply as Trump’s DEI ban deadline nears
He further criticized the Trump administration’s sudden reversal on DEI, pointing to 2020 comments by then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who called diversity and inclusion “cornerstones of high organizational performance.” The current administration, Morton-Bentley argued, has offered no explanation for its “abrupt shift” in stance.
The move to condition funding on DEI dismantling has drawn criticism for contradicting Trump’s oft-repeated pledge to return education authority to states and local communities.
New York’s resistance echoes its earlier defiance of a separate Trump administration demand: to shut down a congestion pricing plan intended to fund mass transit in New York City. That plan, too, has faced opposition from federal officials.
Meanwhile, the administration’s campaign against DEI mirrors its parallel efforts targeting universities—where funding threats have been used to pressure institutions over campus protests against Israel that the administration has deemed antisemitic.
