Kentucky Department of Education officials have signed a letter certifying that all diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives have been discontinued, according to state education officials.
Kentucky Department of Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher stated that the federal directive was “not without issues.” Nonetheless, I am confident that through our statewide commitment to providing opportunity and access for all students, we can make progress toward meeting the needs and ensuring the success of every student in Kentucky’s public schools.”
In an email sent to public school superintendents on Sunday, Fletcher explained his decision.
Fletcher also stated that local school districts have until April 18 to sign a similar letter to the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights certifying that they have eliminated DEI initiatives.
The effort is part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s efforts to eliminate DEI initiatives throughout the federal government, including hiring, academics, and recognizing minority history and accomplishments.
“For those school districts that choose not to sign the Certification Form, KDE will propose no enforcement action to OCR on the grounds that the Certification Form does not comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,” Fletcher stated in the email he received.
According to the act, documents do not need to be signed if they do not have an appropriate control number or federal document number.
The letter from federal education officials dated April 3 requires state education leaders to certify within 10 days that they are in compliance with federal civil rights laws, which the department claims prohibit diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The letter warned that if state education departments do not comply, they risk losing federal funding.
The initial deadline for schools and the Kentucky Department of Education to sign the document was Monday. The deadline was later extended by the US Department of Education to April 24.
“Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor stated in a news release announcing the directive in early April.
“When state education commissioners accept federal funds, they agree to follow federal anti-discrimination policies.
Unfortunately, we have seen far too many schools disregard or outright violate these obligations, including using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans in favor of another based on identity characteristics, a clear violation of Title VI.”
Title VI is a provision of the Civil Rights Act.
Kentucky schools receive more than $1 billion per year from the federal government, according to state budget documents. The United States Department of Agriculture provides a significant portion of the funding for school lunches.
In a separate move, the Department of Education withdrew federal funding from Maine last week after it refused to prohibit transgender athletes from participating in youth sports.
