Request for relief comes as administration has launched an unprecedented assault of public school teachers and students

Baltimore, MD – A coalition including nationwide associations of educators and a public school district today asked a federal court to pause a Trump administration policy that threatens to withhold federal funding for any educational institutions that do not comply with its unprecedented re-interpretation of civil rights laws. The Trump policy also threatens educators and schools with potential investigations and prosecutions, and a motion for preliminary injunction submitted today asks the court to halt the harmful effects of the policy while the matter is considered by the court. 

Last month, the American Federation of Teachers, AFT-Maryland, the American Sociological Association, and Eugene School District 4J filed a complaint in federal court in Maryland. The complaint challenges a “Dear Colleague Letter,” published by the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights on February 14, 2025, which threatened that federal funding would be withheld from education institutions that teach students important history, sociology, and other lessons that necessarily discuss race, provide support to students in the form of diversity, equity, or inclusion programming, or attempt to foster racial diversity in the school community, among other efforts. 

“No one’s life is being made better by these unlawful and unprecedented threats against America’s public education system, its educators and students. We are asking the court to pause the very intentional confusion this letter has already caused so it can be addressed in court,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is representing the coalition in the matter. “Threatening teachers and sowing chaos in schools throughout America is part of Trump’s war on education. Democracy Forward is honored to work with teachers, sociologists and public school districts that will all be directly affected by these destructive policies to fight back and protect public education.” 

“It’s our job as educators to foster opportunity, dignity and engagement. We create safe and welcoming classrooms where students are cared for and accepted. We teach the skills and knowledge they need to navigate a diverse and complex world. And we value critical thinking, which requires us to present history in an open and honest way,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “We are seeking immediate relief because this vague and clearly unconstitutional memo is a grave attack on students, our profession, honest history and knowledge itself. It would hamper efforts to extend access to education, and dash the promise of equal opportunity for all, a central tenet of the United States since its founding.” 

“If we cannot teach the complex history of every student and meet the diverse needs of every student, then we cannot have an education system that serves all Marylanders,” said AFT Maryland President Kenya Campbell. “Threatening educators who teach honest history and sowing fear and division among students will not solve anything. We must have a preliminary injunction to protect the critical funding our system – from K-12 schools in our most vulnerable communities to our higher education institutions – relies on and to stop the chaos caused by attacking communities for simply meeting the varied needs of all our students.”

“Sociologists study society and group behavior. Consequently, we recognize that race and racial inequality are areas that warrant scientific analysis,” said American Sociological Association President Adia Harvey Wingfield. “Sociologists directly examine how and why racial inequality continues to persist. We also explore the causes and consequences of group-level differences in education, health care, jobs, and more. Our classrooms should be spaces to ask and answer hard questions about these topics, but the chilling effect of this directive would make that process impossible. Ultimately, limiting this type of inquiry does a disservice to students, universities, and the general public that benefits from our research and teaching.”

“Equity programs help fulfill our legal and moral responsibility to make sure all of our students have fair and equal access to public education,” Eugene School District 4J Board Chair Jenny Jonak said. “The Dear Colleague letter and related guidance conflicts with state law requirements and creates confusion that hurts our school community and our students. Our district has a hate and bias reporting system, student affinity groups that are open to all, curriculum that teaches global history and culture, social and emotional learning, and an ‘Every Student Belongs’ program banning hate symbols in our schools. We also track test scores and attendance rates for all students, as well as disaggregated data and attendance rates for historically underserved groups, to ensure that all our students are receiving the supports they need. The Dear Colleague letter and directives force us to try to pick between the supports that students need to thrive and federal funding that all of our students deserve.”

The motion for preliminary injunction here and the full amended complaint here.

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Democracy Forward is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.