Discrimination

Read more about discrimination claims in schools based on race, sex, etc., including under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and Title IX
Image of the White House, Capitol, the Supreme Court building, and a school.
Laura Baker/Education Week via Canva.
Federal How Trump Has Changed Schools in His First 100 Days: A Timeline
Schools have experienced an unprecedented quantity and velocity of K-12 policy shifts in President Donald Trump’s first 100 days.
Jennifer Vilcarino, April 29, 2025
1 min read
Chiefs signs and logos are at Massapequa High School in Massapequa, N.Y., on April 25, 2025.
Chiefs signs and logos are at Massapequa High School in Massapequa, N.Y., on April 25, 2025.
Ted Shaffrey/AP
Federal Trump Wades Into DEI Fight Over Native American Mascots in Schools
Scholars and Native American activists have long pushed back on schools’ use of such images.
Brooke Schultz, April 28, 2025
6 min read
The Tharpe family, pictured outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, on April 28, 2025.
Gina and Aaron Tharpe appear outside the U.S. Supreme Court on April 28 with their daughter Ava, who has a severe form of epilepsy. The court is weighing what liability standard should apply to the suit for damages they filed against their school district.
Mark Walsh/Education Week
Law & Courts Supreme Court Poised to Back Student in Key Disability-Rights Case
The U.S. Supreme Court considered what liability standard should apply for cases brought by students under two key federal disability laws.
Mark Walsh, April 28, 2025
6 min read
The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024.
The U.S. Supreme Court as seen on Dec. 17, 2024. The court will hear arguments on April 28 in a case about the legal standard for discrimination for two federal disability-rights laws and how they play out in schools.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court to Weigh Discrimination Standard for Some Special Education Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider what legal standard must be met for proving discrimination against students with disabilities.
Mark Walsh, April 24, 2025
9 min read
Sarah Hinger (center), deputy director of the ACLU Racial Justice Program, takes questions from reporters after oral arguments in a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire seeking to block the Trump administration from requiring public schools to end DEI programs on April 17, 2025.
Sarah Hinger (center), deputy director of the ACLU racial justice program, takes questions from reporters after oral arguments in a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire seeking to block the Trump administration from requiring public schools to end DEI programs on April 17, 2025. Two federal judges on Thursday issued orders limiting the Trump administration's ability to enforce its anti-DEI directives to schools and colleges.
Courtesy of Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin
Law & Courts Trump Can't Enforce Anti-DEI Directives in Schools, 3 Judges Say
Three judges, including two Trump appointees, said the administration had overstepped its authority in its efforts to rid schools of DEI.
Matthew Stone, April 24, 2025
7 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon accompanied by Attorney General Pam Bondi, right, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon, accompanied by Attorney General Pam Bondi, right, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. The pair were announcing a lawsuit against the state of Maine over state policies that allow transgender athletes to compete in girls' sports.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Federal Inside Trump's Full-Force Approach to Ban Trans Athletes and DEI in Schools
Trump’s return to the White House has brought a new era of aggressive investigations of entities that flout the president's orders.
Brooke Schultz, April 16, 2025
8 min read
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Collage by Gina Tomko/Education Week and Getty
States Tracker 'Illegal' DEI: See Which States Are Telling Trump Their Schools Don't Use It
The Education Department wants states and schools to sign a certification saying they don't use DEI. Here's how they're responding so far.
Matthew Stone & Mark Lieberman, April 10, 2025
6 min read
Vector illustration of a large hand holding a contract and a smaller man with a large pen signing the contract while a woman in the background is clutching a gold coin and watching as he signs.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Federal Trump Admin. Tells Schools: No Federal Funds If You're Using DEI
A letter sent out Thursday is another Trump administration to curb diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools—and use funding as leverage.
Brooke Schultz, April 3, 2025
6 min read
Restroom sign male female
Getty
Law & Courts Idaho Can Restrict Transgender Students’ Restroom Use, Appeals Court Rules
A federal appeals court panel declined to block an Idaho law requiring students to use restrooms that align with their "biological sex."
Mark Walsh, March 21, 2025
3 min read
President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women's or girls' sporting events, in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump speaks at the White House on Feb. 5, 2025, before signing an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women's or girls' sporting events. Two federal agencies have found Maine in violation of Title IX for its defiance of that executive order.
Alex Brandon/AP
States Trump Admin. Gives Maine 10 Days to Bar Trans Athletes—or Risk School Funding
The finding of a Title IX violation is a test case of the president's use of federal funds as a cudgel for compliance with executive orders.
Brooke Schultz, March 19, 2025
6 min read
The exterior of the Department of Education Building in Washington, DC on Thursday, December 14, 2017.
The exterior of the Department of Education Building in Washington on Dec. 14, 2017. Parents are suing the department over the firing of its office for civil rights staff, arguing that the layoffs will stifle civil rights investigations.
Swikar Patel/Education Week
Law & Courts Parents Sue Ed. Dept. Over Civil Rights Office Layoffs and Delays
The lawsuit argues that the mass layoffs leave students and families with little recourse for discrimination complaints.
Brooke Schultz, March 14, 2025
4 min read
Deeper learning prepares students to work collaboratively and direct their own learning.
There has been an uptick in political pushback against social-emotional learning, with the Education Department recently saying some schools "have sought to veil discriminatory policies" with terms like SEL.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Federal Ed. Dept. Says SEL Can 'Veil' Discrimination. What Does This Mean for Schools?
A document from the Education Department flags social-emotional learning—a once bipartisan education strategy—as a means of discrimination.
9 min read
The U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., is pictured on Dec. 1, 2020.
The U.S. Department of Education in Washington, pictured on Dec. 1, 2020. The Trump administration has launched a portal for the public to report schools engaged in DEI activities.
Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via AP
Federal Education Department Launches 'End DEI' Website to Solicit Complaints About Schools
The Trump administration wants the public to report schools for using DEI practices.
Jennifer Vilcarino, February 27, 2025
2 min read
President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. The department's office for civil rights, which enforces federal civil rights laws in schools, has been hamstrung by the Trump administration's goal of shrinking the agency.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Trump Shakeup Stops Most Work at Education Department's Civil Rights Office
President Donald Trump is downsizing a federal office that he's also using to carry out his policy agenda for schools.
Brooke Schultz, February 14, 2025
9 min read