The great DEI disappearing act: How Trump made diversity vanish from schools

References to diversity, equity and inclusion at K-12 school board meetings have declined sharply alongside Trump administration efforts to purge race-based programs from public education. Here’s what you need to know about the DEI decline in schools:

The sharp decline

Burbio tracking shows dramatic drop in DEI mentions:

• School tracking website reported DEI mentions declined from 38.1% of board minutes in last three months of 2024
• Dropped to 32.9% in first three months of this year
• Declined further to 28.3% of school board meetings between April and June
• Reverses several increases under Biden administration

The federal pressure campaign

Trump administration targeting DEI programs at all education levels:

• “The drop coincides with the federal government instituting policies that target programs in the DEI area”
• Burbio President Dennis Roche said in email
• Federal campaign targeting DEI programs expanded from grammar school to college
• Analysis represents more than 70% of nation’s public school population

The administration’s rationale

Trump team says race-based programs violate civil rights law:

• President Trump canceled Biden administration programs supporting DEI training and initiatives
• Programs designed to give disadvantaged minorities a leg up
• Administration insists spending tax dollars on race-based programs violates federal civil rights law
• Claims programs favor some people based on skin color

The enforcement threats

Education and Justice departments issue warnings:

• Education Department threatened to withhold federal funding in April letter
• Threat targeted elementary schools refusing to end DEI programs
• Justice Department issued new federal funding guidance last week
• Accused DEI “programs or initiatives” of violating anti-discrimination laws

The expert analysis

University of Chicago economist criticizes administration approach:

• Steven Durlauf said “administration’s attacks on DEI have gone far, far beyond what may be plausibly justified”
• Attacks “become an effort to teach a triumphalist, inaccurate version of American history”
• Version “ignores the deep roots of contemporary group inequalities”
• Durlauf specializes in wealth inequality

The rebranding concern

Schools may simply rename programs to avoid scrutiny:

• Impossible to know how many schools renamed DEI programs to evade purge
• “Schools may drop the acronym, but the ideology often remains”
• New labels include “belonging,” “culturally responsive teaching,” or “inclusive practices”
• Jessica Bartnick, former Dallas school board member, provided examples

The operational continuity

DEI principles continue under different names:

• Schools eliminating honors classes to fight “racism” still operating under DEI principles
• Grading policies ignoring performance or deadlines also DEI-based
• Terms related to DEI remain “widely used in K-12”
• Appear in “job titles, district mission statements, academic courses, district committees”

The conservative perspective

Republicans reject DEI as lowering academic standards:

• Conservatives view DEI as decades-long effort to lower standards for Black and Hispanic students
• Students who historically score lower than peers
• Effort to force equal outcomes prioritizes group identity over merit
• Julie Giordano, Wicomico County Republican executive, said DEI “promotes division rather than true merit”

The liberal defense

Supporters say conservatives distorted DEI purpose:

• “DEI was all about recognizing the importance of diversity in schools, and in the wider society”
• Tyrone Howard, UCLA education professor specializing in racial equity
• “The right hijacked the term, and made it to be something that it is not”
• Dispute characterization as reverse discrimination against White and Asian students

The quiet removal strategy

Officials avoiding confrontation over DEI programs:

• “Many district officials quietly remove DEI language from agendas and communications rather than defend it”
• Programs renamed “under generic terms like ’culture initiatives’”
• Giordano called this approach “most frustrating”
• Officials choose stealth over public defense

The future predictions

Education insiders expect DEI return under Democrats:

• Most predict DEI will become popular topic again at school board meetings
• Would occur next time Democrats retake White House
• “Trump administration is using the language of civil rights to attack DEI”
• Jonathan Zimmerman, University of Pennsylvania education professor, notes struggle over civil rights legacy

Read more:

• Report finds DEI vanishing from school board meetings amid Trump-led purge