While the federal government is threatening financing cuts on school diversity programs, California has said that it is already in accordance with federal law and that Trump administration’s actions are illegal.
Meanwhile, many school districts in southern California echo the state position, some saying that they have never received a letter from federal officials.
Thursday, April 24 is the deadline for the US Ministry of Education so that kindergarten districts to the 12th year certify that they comply with the federal interpretation of title VI or risk losing federal funding. Title VI is part of the 1964 civil rights law which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin.
The Trump administration wishes to ensure that public schools follow federal laws on civil rights and put an end to the diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Earlier this month, Craig Train, acting assistant secretary of civil rights administration, said in a statement that many schools had flouted their legal obligations, “including using Dei programs to discriminate a group of Americans to promote another.”
This is the last decision of the administration to verify the Dei programs. He launched a “Portal End Dei” in February so that the parents report whether the school districts discriminated against the students according to the race or the sex, a press release from the Education Department of February 27.
The California Department of Education sent a letter of April 11 to the federal government saying that the State had already certified that it would respect the federal civil rights law for the 2024-25 school year. State representatives also support the threat retain Federal dollars are illegal.
Representatives of several districts in southern California said they thought the state would manage the problem. A spokesperson for the State Department of the State could not be joined to answer questions but stressed the answer of the office of April 11 to the federal government.
An opinion of April 3 of the United States Ministry of Education gives states and schools until Thursday, April 24, to sign and return a certification.
This certification asks the leaders of the State and the School to sign a “recall of legal obligations” recognizing that their federal money present themselves on the condition that they comply with federal laws on civil rights. It also requires respect for several pages of legal analysis written by the administration.
Certification followed a memo of February 14 declaring that any school policy that deals with students or staff differently due to their race is illegal. He aimed to fight what the note described as generalized discrimination in education, often against American white and Asian students.
At least a school district in southern California has complied.
The unified school district of Chino Valley in the county of San Bernardino – which is led by a conservative council – signed the documents and returned them, said the spokesman for the district Andrea Johnston.
Chino Valley received more than $ 18 million in federal funding during the 2024-25 school year, Johnston said.
The Chino Valley board of directors has a conservative majority led by President Sonja Shaw, who recently announced a series of 2026 for the Superintendent of California schools.
The Board of Directors made the front page of the national newspapers for conservative policies such as a notification policy of parents demanding that schools inform parents if a child changes his school file, which would include the modification of his pronouns. Politics has been criticized by enemies who say that it targets LGBTQ +students.
In the County of Orange, some school districts say they have not been invited to make changes before the deadline, and for the moment, they do not plan.
The Unified Capistrano school district, the most important of the county, has received no official request to certify its compliance and “need more details to do so,” said spokesman Ryan Burris.
Likewise, the Orange Unified School District has not received any directive requiring changes or equipment of the program. The District follows the councils of state education departments and county and focuses on the support of “academic success and well-being of all students,” said spokesman Hana Brake.
“If official directives are issued, we will examine it in depth to ensure that our practices comply with all relevant laws and regulations,” said Brake.
The Orange County Ministry of Education confirmed that it had followed the request of the federal government, although it did not directly receive the certification request letter. The ministry regularly certifies that it complies with federal laws as a condition for financing and has already submitted insurance for the school year of 2024-2025, said Superintendent Stefan Bean.
The Ministry’s Legal Office has published councils for districts saying that existing insurances remain in force.
Los Angeles Unified School District, is the largest school district in California, with more than 640,000 students and is the second largest in the United States.
A district spokesperson said that, although demand was similar to other certifications, officials would continue to follow the state’s example.
In the inner empire, officials of other districts said they were determined to serve all students, regardless of race and comply with civil rights laws.
The Unified Riverside school district received the federal letter, but officials thought it implied that the State Department of Education would take care of the issue, said spokesperson Liz Pinney-Muglia.
Some checked with the state.
“We were in communication with California Department of Education to ensure that our programs and services comply with the California State Education Code,” said Craig Petinak, spokesperson for the Riverside County Education Bureau, in an email on Monday, April 21.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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