Federal funding remains protected for schools with diversity, equity and inclusion programs after the United States Department of Education dropped its appeal to a previous federal court order, according to a Jan. 21 court document.
The department’s decision allows a federal judge’s order to stand, preventing the restriction of funds from schools that require courses or training that are “designed to emphasize and focus on racial stereotypes,” according to a document from the department.
The initial case against the Department of Education was filed in February 2025 by the American Federation of Teachers in a Maryland District Court. The AFT argued that a letter sent out by the department violated free speech, rather than “reiterat(ing) existing legal requirements” about discrimination, as the letter claimed to do.
While the University already complies with many of these guidelines due to Texas Senate Bill 17, which prohibits DEI-related training and offices, this federal guidance had the potential to reach beyond SB 17 by restricting funding for including certain language and ideas in university curriculum.
In an Aug. 14, 2025, opinion — which the department sought to overturn before it dropped its appeal — U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher called the new guidelines “unlawful,” and ruled against the department.
“The government … initiated a sea change in how the Department of Education regulates educational practices and classroom conduct, causing millions of educators to reasonably fear that their lawful, and even beneficial, speech might cause them or their schools to be punished,” Gallagher wrote in her decision.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, who represented the AFT in the case, wrote that the department’s decision to drop its appeal was a “meaningful win for public education,” in an email statement.
“Though today is a victory against the administration’s unlawful crusade against civil rights, equity, and inclusion, we know the fight to protect public education is far from over,” Perryman wrote in a statement.
The department’s decision to drop the appeal marks a “final defeat” against attempts to require schools to “censor lessons, abandon student support programs, and certify their compliance with the administration’s unlawful interpretation of civil rights,” the AFT wrote in a news release.
“When you fight you don’t always win,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in the release. “But you never win without a fight.”
The Department of Education did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
