New Jersey Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer notified the U.S. Department of Education that he intends to ignore vaguely worded demands from President Donald Trump’s administration to rid schools of programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
Dehmer sent a letter to federal officials Thursday saying New Jersey will not comply with an order to certify that public schools are not using DEI programs and policies.
New Jersey officials said school districts — also called local education agencies, or LEAs — have already provided all the paperwork necessary to meet federal rules.
“The NJDOE is unaware of any changes in federal law or regulations that would necessitate the provision of additional certifications beyond those that it or New Jersey LEAs have already provided,” Dehmer said in the letter.
The federal Department of Education requested all states notify federal officials by Thursday that no DEI programs are being used in classrooms or school districts. By refusing to agree to the request, New Jersey could be the subject of an investigation and lose federal funding for schools.
Federal officials sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to education officials in February that said schools and universities “have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism’ and advanced discriminatory policies and practices.”
When asked to comment on New Jersey’s letter refusing to certify its schools aren’t using DEI, a spokeswoman for the federal Department of Education said Arkansas, Guam, Oklahoma and Puerto Rico are among the governments that have already complied with the “Dear Colleague” letter request.
“These entities understand that the Department’s request for certification is not controversial: when schools accept federal funding, they are obligated to uphold federal civil rights laws. Similarly, the Department of Education has a responsibility to ensure that educational entities are protecting students’ civil rights,” said Madi Biedermann, U.S. Department of Education Deputy Assistant Secretary of Communications.
“The Department is merely asking states to verify their compliance with this basic responsibility, which they should have been able to do every year since 1964, when the Civil Rights Act was signed into law,” she added.
At least 15 attorneys general, including New Jersey Attorney General Mathew Platkin, see the “Dear Colleague” letter differently.
“The President cannot change longstanding legal precedent by executive order,” said a joint statement signed by Platkin and other attorneys general.
New Jersey’s K-12 schools receive approximately $1.1 billion in federal funding, according to a calculator created by the Education Law Center, a Newark-based nonprofit group.
Dehmer said the state is already feeling the pain of federal education cuts.
“I think it’s disheartening to see things like almost 50% of the U.S. Department of Education employees have been let go,” Dehmer said on Monday at an Assembly Budget Committee hearing in Trenton.
Those cuts have taken away federal “resources that we don’t have available to us anymore,” he said.
The NAACP is suing the federal Department of Education to stop enforcement of the “Dear Colleague” letter. The suit, if successful, could protect New Jersey and other states’ federal education funding even if they don’t comply with the Trump administration DEI demands.
“Ultimately, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs benefit all of us,” the NAACP’s suit said.
Diverse environments “help build critical thinking, problem-solving ability, and intellectual self-confidence, and prepare students to thrive in our global economy,” the suit said.
When lawmakers asked about education funding at Monday’s Assembly budget hearing, Dehmer said New Jersey officials are doing everything they can to make sure schools get their federal funds.
“We will continue to move along as things arise. But there isn’t a clear roadmap for where things are headed,” Dehmer said.
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Liz Rosenberg may be reached at lrosenberg@njadvancemedia.com.