Is New Fed Letter To Districts Threatening Title 1 Monies An Example Of “Big Hat, No Cattle”?

While the tariff fiasco was the big news in the world today, the big news in the education world was a letter from the federal Department of Education threatening to withhold Title 1 funds from schools if they didn’t certify they weren’t implementing DEI programs.

Ed Week’s article, Trump Admin. Tells Schools: No Federal Funds If You’re Using DEI, is probably the best piece out there on it. As you can see from the above excerpt, it sounds like the letter might be all bluster.

Here’s an unpaywalled article from Chalkbeat about it: States must promise their schools don’t use DEI or lose federal money, Trump administration says

Here’s a gift article from The NY Times about it:

Every time that these attempts reemerge, it’s important to reiterate, “No. You may not.”

The text of Title I of ESSA strictly prohibits it.

www.congress.gov/114/plaws/pu…

(see next post for the direct quote)

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— David Houston (@dmhouston.bsky.social) April 3, 2025 at 7:54 AM

Here are some more good pieces on it:

Schools have 10 days to comply with Trump anti-DEI policy or face losing federal funds is from The L.A. Times.

How the Trump Administration Might Target D.E.I. in Public Schools is a second particularly useful NY Times article.

$2 billion in federal funding for NYC schools at risk amid Trump administration’s DEI threats
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/04/03/nyc-public-school-funding-trump-dei-threats/

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— Chalkbeat (@chalkbeat.org) April 3, 2025 at 4:00 PM