New York state officials have told the Trump administration that they will not comply with its demands to end diversity, equity and inclusion practices in public schools, despite the administration's threats to terminate federal education funding.
Daniel Morton-Bentley, counsel and deputy commissioner of the state Department of Education, said in a letter dated Friday to the federal Education Department that state officials do not believe the federal agency has the authority to make such demands.
“We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems ‘diversity, equity & inclusion,’” he wrote. “But there are no federal or State laws prohibiting the principles of DEI.”
Morton-Bentley also wrote state officials were “unaware” of any authority the federal Department of Education has to demand that states agree with its interpretation of court decisions or to terminate funding without a formal administrative process.
The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
The Trump administration on Thursday ordered K-12 schools nationwide to certify within 10 days that they are following federal civil rights laws and ending any discriminatory DEI practices, as a condition for receiving federal money. Federal funding comprises about 6% of the total funding for New York K-12 schools.
“Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement when the demand was made. He said many schools have flouted their legal obligations, “including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another.”
The certification demand asked state and school leaders to sign a “reminder of legal obligations” acknowledging their federal money is conditioned on compliance with federal civil rights laws. It also demands compliance with several pages of legal analysis written by the administration.
The demand specifically threatens Title I funding, which sends billions of dollars a year to America’s schools and targets low-income areas.
Morton-Bentley wrote that the state Education Department has already certified to the federal government on multiple occasions that it is complying with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, most recently in January. He said the federal department is basing its demands to end DEI programs on a faulty legal interpretation.
“Given the fact that you are already in possession of guarantees by NYSED that it has and will comply with Title VI, no further certification will be forthcoming,” he wrote.
He also said the administration's stance is an “abrupt shift” from the one taken by the first Trump administration, citing comments in 2020 made by then-U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that diversity and inclusion were “cornerstones of high organizational performance." He wrote the administration has provided no explanation of why it changed positions.
Critics of the certification demand said it conflicted with Trump's promise to return education to schools and states.
The threat of financial sanctions is similar to ones the Trump administration has been leveraging against colleges in its effort to crack down on protests against Israel that it deems antisemitic.
New York state has similarly refused to comply with a demand by the Trump administration to shut down a program to fund mass transit in New York City with high tolls on cars that drive into Manhattan.
FILE - Children and their guardians leave P.S. 64 in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, widely seen as the front-runner in a presidential by-election triggered by the removal of Yoon Suk Yeol last week, announced his presidential bid Thursday, vowing to heal a starkly divided nation through economic growth.
Lee, who narrowly lost the 2022 election to Yoon, led the liberal Democratic Party’s campaign to oust the former president over his December declaration of martial law.
Lee recently stepped down as the party’s chairman to focus on campaigning for the June 3 election. He is considered the clear front-runner in party's primary. Kim Dong-yeon, the Democratic governor of Gyeonggi province and a longtime financial policymaker, also told reporters Wednesday that he intends to run for president.
Yoon’s downfall has left the conservative People Power Party in disarray, with roughly 10 politicians expected to seek the nomination, reflecting a split between Yoon loyalists, who still control the party’s leadership, and reformists calling for a fresh start.
In a video message, Lee said that Yoon’s martial law saga exposed the country’s deep divisions and social conflicts, and argued that the root cause was a widening rich-poor gap. He promised aggressive government spending to jolt economic growth and ease income polarization.
“We have more than we did in the past, but wealth is too concentrated in certain areas,” Lee said. “With economic growth rates declining worldwide, it has become difficult to maintain and develop an economy solely on the strength of the private sector. However, with government-led talent development and extensive investments in technological research and development, we can revive the economy.”
Lee said it was crucial to maintain a robust alliance with the United States and to pursue three-way cooperation with Japan, but he stressed that South Korea’s national interest should come first in “every decision.”
Lee, who has served as a lawmaker, provincial governor and city mayor, is adored by supporters for his outspoken style and has long positioned himself as an anti-elitist. His critics view him as a populist who stokes division and demonizes conservative opponents while failing to offer realistic funding plans to achieve his ambitious goals.
Kweon Seong-dong, PPP floor leader and a staunch Yoon loyalist, said that if Lee becomes president, he will “ruthlessly wield the sword of dogmatism and retribution” and further deepen the country’s divisions.
Lee also has his own set of legal troubles, facing five different trials for corruption and other criminal charges.
Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court upheld Yoon’s impeachment by the legislature and formally removed him from office over the martial law decree, triggering a presidential by-election within 60 days. The next president will serve a full 5-year term.
Former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, head of the party’s anti-Yoon faction, announced his presidential bid Thursday, positioning himself as a conservative who opposed martial law and appealing to centrist voters to stop the inauguration of a populist “monster government” led by Lee. Among the conservatives’ presidential hopefuls, former Labor Minister Kim Moon Soo is considered to be the most pro-Yoon.
Kim, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo and senior PPP lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo — a former computer software entrepreneur who finished third in the 2017 presidential vote — have declared their intentions to run for president. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is expected to enter the race later.
A TV screen shows former South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung announces his presidential bid via a video message at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
People watch a TV screen showing former South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung announces his presidential bid via a video message at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
People watch a TV screen showing former South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung announces his presidential bid via a video message at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
