The Trump Administration is giving Ohio University, other educational institutions, public schools and other federal funded institutions two weeks to dismantle their diversity, equity and inclusion programs or risk losing federal funding.
The Department of Education issued the ultimatum Friday in a memo and announced a $600 million reduction in federal grants to organizations that train teachers.
The memo cited the promotion of "divisive" concepts such as DEI, critical race theory and social justice activism. Educators at colleges nationwide are rushing to evaluate risks and make decisions on whether or not to stand up for practices they believe are legal, according to the Associated Press.
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said the Department would no longer tolerate what it describes as racial discrimination in educational institutions.
"The law is clear: treating students differently based on race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent," Trainor wrote in the memo.
Interim Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Russell Morrow said at the Council of Student Leaders that OU plans to comply with the law, but believes programs at OU do not discriminate based on race.
“It doesn't matter what you look like, you can go into the Multicultural Center and participate in our programs,” Morrow said. “So we feel confident that the idea of discriminating on the basis of race is not something that we do and it's something that we would not ever do.”
The memo outlined steps the Department of Education will take to assess compliance with federal civil rights law.
Educational institutions, including OU, are now required to ensure their policies comply with existing civil rights laws; cease efforts to circumvent racial discrimination laws by using indirect measures such as proxies; and end reliance on third-party contractors or organizations used to bypass prohibited uses of race in admissions or hiring processes.
OU, like many other institutions, relies heavily on federal funding to support its students. Grants like the Federal Pell Grant, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant directly benefit students at OU.
The deadline for compliance is set for two weeks from the memo’s release, putting pressure on universities across the country, including OU, to act swiftly to ensure continued access to federal financial support.
