American Federation of Teachers, et al. v. U.S. Department of Education

Summary

On February 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague Letter on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in light of Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. The letter stated that the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling applied beyond admissions, warning that schools and colleges receiving federal funds could not operate programs or initiatives that “treat individuals differently based on race, color, or national origin.” It noted that many diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, including scholarships, outreach programs, curricular content, and student services, could be unlawful under Title VI. On April 3, 2025, the Department followed with a Certification Requirement directing recipients of federal education funds to formally attest that they were in compliance with this interpretation, signaling potential loss of funding for noncompliance.

On February 25, 2025, the American Federation of Teachers, AFT–Maryland, and the American Sociological Association filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, captioned American Federation of Teachers, et al. v. U.S. Department of Education, et al. The complaint alleged that the Department’s actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act by issuing binding policy without notice-and-comment rulemaking, exceeded statutory authority under Title VI, and infringed First and Fifth Amendment rights by chilling protected speech and academic freedom. The plaintiffs described the guidance as an attempt to “weaponize civil rights laws against the very students they were designed to protect.” Parallel lawsuits were filed by the National Education Association and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund on similar grounds.

On April 24, 2025, Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the Dear Colleague Letter. She held that the guidance was likely a final agency action unlawfully issued without proper procedure and that it “posed a credible threat of enforcement” that could chill constitutionally protected expression. The court did not at that stage enjoin the Certification Requirement, though other courts in related cases later issued broader injunctions. On August 14, 2025, Judge Gallagher issued a final judgment vacating both the Dear Colleague Letter and the Certification Requirement, ruling that the Department’s actions were “unconstitutional, unlawful, and issued in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.” The judgment found that the Department misapplied SFFA v. Harvard, imposed obligations never authorized by Congress, and attempted to censor lawful educational activity under threat of federal funding cuts. The ruling was described by the AFT as “a victory for democracy and freedom,” by the ASA as “a decisive win against education censorship,” and by Democracy Forward as “a major victory for public education, civil rights, and academic freedom.”

On January 22, 2026, the Department of Education dropped its appeal of Judge Gallagher’s ruling, effectively ending the Trump administration’s legal effort to enforce the anti-DEI guidance and certification requirement. Reporting described the withdrawal as the “final defeat” of the administration’s campaign to regulate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in schools and colleges. Following the appeal withdrawal, unions and advocacy groups emphasized that schools and colleges could continue DEI initiatives without threat of federal reprisal, while noting that the litigation had previously caused some institutions to scale back or rebrand programs in response to federal pressure.