Colorado Department of Education Refuses to Comply with Trump's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Order

Colorado Department of Education Commissioner Susana Córdova announced that her department would not sign a letter from the federal government certifying that the state's K-12 school districts are complying with the removal of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices.

"I am not signing that," Córdova said. "I'm not asking our districts to sign that."

In a letter dated April 3, the U.S. Department of Education asked state departments of education to sign a "reminder of legal obligations undertaken in exchange for receiving federal financial assistance." The Trump administration has previously threatened to pull federal funding from schools and universities if they do not remove DEI policies and programs to comply with the department’s interpretation of federal law.

Colorado school districts have already signed assurances saying they comply with Title VI. "They do so on an annual basis in order to be eligible to receive federal funds," Córdova said. "We are not going to be collecting and asking districts to sign a new assurance that came to us in that April 3 request."

"It has not gone through a process that's called the Paperwork Reduction Act, which is a very detailed and structured process that must occur before federal agencies can compel mandatory collections of information like this kind of a certification," Córdova said.

The commissioner also discussed the potential withholding of federal funds should the new request not be signed. "It would be unlawful to restrict federal funding because somebody declines to sign a document that we're not legally obligated to sign," Córdova said. "Furthermore, frankly, I would be uncomfortable signing a certification that binds us to federal guidance that doesn't have the force of law."

However, Colorado Department of Education Board Member Steve Durham disagreed with the commissioner's stance. "I think [the motive] behind not signing this is political rather than rather than legal," he said.

"It's misused to discriminate in employment and other prohibited banners that are prohibited by Title VI," Durham said. "I think the question is that, is there any evidence of whether or not we, any of the entities involved, use DEI as a mechanism to engage in discrimination based on race?"

Tracy Hanson, a mother whose child has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), expressed concern about her children's education and well-being. "She is on the autism spectrum, so it's very, very important [and] is supposed to follow her all the way through high school," she said.

For the 2024-2025 school year, the state of Colorado was estimated to receive $870,229,410, according to the Colorado Department of Education.