Diversity

Education news, analysis, and opinion around school diversity, including racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity, as well as coverage of gender diversity and LGBTQ issues

See Also: Equity & Diversity, Teacher Diversity

Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Opinion How to Keep Supporting Students in a Hostile Political Environment
Protecting kids outside of school may be beyond educators' means, but here are ways we can help them.
Larry Ferlazzo, June 26, 2025
•
10 min read
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon meets with students during a visit to Vertex Partnership Academies in New York on March 7, 2025.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon meets with students during a visit to Vertex Partnership Academies in New York City on March 7, 2025.
Courtesy of U.S. Department of Education
Equity & Diversity Opinion Let DEI Practices Die. Replace Them With Something Better
Individual student agency enabled by strong families and schools can lead students to success, writes a researcher.
Robert Maranto, June 5, 2025
•
5 min read
A hand on the scale weighed against a pile of books.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty + Education Week
Federal Opinion 'Narrower, Meaner, and More Loyal:' Trump’s Ed. Agenda Hurts Students Like Me
How President Trump is weaponizing education policy—and why it matters.
J.T. Vazquez, June 3, 2025
•
4 min read
Conceptual image of diversity.
iam2mai/iStock/Getty
Federal What Is 'Illegal DEI?' Trump Admin.'s School Probes Start to Paint a Picture
Department probes focused on rooting out DEI have mostly targeted colleges. But the Trump administration is also looking toward K-12.
Brooke Schultz, May 13, 2025
•
7 min read
Vector illustration of a giant pair of scissors coming in the side of the frame about to cut dollar signs that are falling off of a microscope. There is a businessman at the top of a ladder looking down into the microscope at the dollar signs falling off the lense.
Collage by Gina Tomko/Education Week and Getty
Science National Science Foundation Cancels More Than 400 STEM Grants
The terminations affect teacher training, after-school programs, and district-wide initiatives to boost math and science participation.
Sarah Schwartz, May 2, 2025
•
6 min read
Guests listen as President Joe Biden speaks during an event to celebrate the passage of the "Bipartisan Safer Communities Act," a law meant to reduce gun violence, on the South Lawn of the White House, July 11, 2022, in Washington.
Guests listen as then-President Joe Biden speaks during an event to celebrate the passage of the "Bipartisan Safer Communities Act," a law meant to reduce gun violence, on the South Lawn of the White House on July 11, 2022, in Washington. The U.S. Department of Education on April 29 told grantees that had received money to train and hire more mental health professionals in schools that it wouldn't renew their grants.
Evan Vucci/AP
Federal Trump Ends $1 Billion in Mental Health Grants for Schools
The Education Department told grantees that their awards reflected the Biden administration's priorities.
Brooke Schultz, April 30, 2025
•
5 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
Tightly cropped photo of an African American woman's hands around a paper cutout of different colored paper people.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management A Superintendent's Balancing Act Amid Trump's DEI Crackdown
Districts are trying to navigate a dizzying pace of new federal orders and continue working with as little fanfare as possible.
Caitlynn Peetz, April 23, 2025
•
6 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
Three high school boys and one high school girl work together on an experiment in AP chemistry class.
Three high school boys and one high school girl work together on an experiment in AP chemistry class.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Equity & Diversity Anti-DEI Policies Are Ramping Up—With Big Implications for College Access
A new study looks at how students of color could be affected by policies that ban DEI efforts.
Jennifer Vilcarino, April 14, 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
Hope Benner holds her daughter Liberty Benner, 6, as President Donald Trump speaks at a reception celebrating Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, March 26, 2025, in Washington.
Hope Benner holds her daughter Liberty Benner, 6, as President Donald Trump speaks at a reception celebrating Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, March 26, 2025, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Teaching Schools Find New Ways to Celebrate Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month, a time dedicated to remembering the trailblazers who gave all women the right to vote and honoring women's many contributions to U.S. education, science, technology, policy, and more.
Jennifer Vilcarino, March 28, 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 females from competing in women's or girls' sports. Transgender athlete policies have been a common subject of investigations into schools, colleges, state education departments, and athletic associations by the U.S. Department of Education since Trump took office.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Tracker See Which Schools Trump's Education Department Is Investigating and Why
The agency has opened more than 100 investigations. Check out our map and table to review them.
Brooke Schultz & Matthew Stone, March 27, 2025
•
2 min read
202503 Opinion Starr DEI 2155439727
iStock/Getty Images
Equity & Diversity Opinion How Education Leaders Should Respond to the Anti-DEI Crowd
Decades of essential equity-based work is under threat in our schools today, warns Joshua P. Starr.
Joshua P. Starr, March 27, 2025
•
4 min read
Load More ▼