On February 14, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) targeting DEI practices at institutions receiving federal funds, including K-12 and higher ed, and \drawing concern and confusion from education leaders and officials. The letter was announced via a post on X by Elon Musk’s U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) service.
What is a DCL? The DCL, which was issued by the ED’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR), is sub-regulatory guidance and is meant to help institutions and states interpret federal law. DCLs are not laws or rules themselves; however, such letters signal how ED will interpret the law to align with the Trump administration’s views and recent executive actions related to DEI.
The DCL was framed as an extension of the Supreme Court’s decision to outlaw affirmative action in 2023, with the intention to apply that decision more broadly. The letter notes plainly: “If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that person’s race, the educational institution violates the law.”
Educational institutions are warned to be compliant within 14 days of the DCL’s publication (March 1), or risk the potential to lose access to federal funding. The DCL also advised institutions to cease any partnerships with third-parties that may be used to circumvent the prohibitions outlined in the letter.
What’s Next
\Whether the guidance outlined in the letter will stay in effect or be used to justify cuts to public funding remains to be seen. The letter itself explicitly states in footnote 3: “This guidance does not have the force and effect of law and does not bind the public or create new legal standards.”
The DCL notes that compliance assessments will begin no later than 14 days from publication, with additional legal guidance to follow in due course. As nonprofits and institutions navigate the potential impact of the guidance, national organizations representing these institutions are preparing to push back. Last week, American Council on Education President Ted Mitchell signaled opposition to the measure and reportedly “chided” colleges who are stripping their websites of DEI language.
More will become clear in the coming weeks—certainly ahead of the administration’s stated compliance deadline—regarding how the court system will respond.
Already, several of the most aggressive actions have been walked back from the White House’s initial rhetoric, either voluntarily or because of court order. Our team will continue to track these actions closely.
