The following message was sent to NADOHE members on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025:
Dear NADOHE Members,
On February 14, 2025, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights issued a “Dear Colleague” letter (DCL) that is intended to “explain and reiterate” existing law under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. NADOHE agrees with the uncontroversial statement in the letter that discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is illegal. However, the letter threatens to condition federal funding on “compliance with … the understanding embodied in this letter.” That “understanding” reflects a mistaken, dangerous, and caricatured version of campuses’ commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. NADOHE decries this affront to the fight for civil rights history of this country and its attempt to erase and silence discussions of this nation’s history and of the continuing impacts of that history.
The letter also makes sweeping statements in direct contradiction of prior guidance that the Department of Education issued in August 2023 interpreting Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. That August 2023 guidance – which the Trump Administration has deleted – describedlawful measures to promote diverse and inclusive campuses and called for institutions to “redoubl[e] efforts to recruit and retain talented students from underserved communities, including those with large numbers of students of color.” The Supreme Court’s SFFA decision itself characterized the goal of diversity on college and university campuses as “commendable” and “worthy” and the Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Roberts, emphasized that its decision should not be construed as “prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.”
The “Dear Colleague” letter acknowledges that “This guidance does not have the force and effect of law and does not bind the public or create new legal standards” – yet it directs “all educational institutions” to “cease” using holistic strategies that support institutions in meeting their institutional mission and goals, on threat of “fac[ing] potential loss of federal funding.”
NADOHE views the “Dear Colleague” letter as yet another unconstitutional tactic by the Trump Administration in its effort to deter and chill the lawful programs and principles that colleges and universities have undertaken to build campus communities that foster inclusive excellence and that support academic freedom. The Department of Education’s actions in issuing this letter demonstrate yet again the vital need for an injunction against further implementation of the unconstitutional anti-DEI Executive Orders.
While NADOHE is not able to provide legal advice to its members, we have an obligation to continue to update our membership on pertinent information as it relates to ongoing legal actions that challenge our work. We are proud to note that the motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction filed by NADOHE and its co-plaintiffs in their lawsuit, NADOHE v. Trump, will be heard by the federal district court in Baltimore on Wednesday, February 19.
The public may email comments on the Department of Education’s guidance to OCR@ed.gov.
In Solidarity,
Paulette Granberry Russell, J.D.
President and CEO
NADOHE