New York AG: Schools Can Keep Diversity Efforts, Despite Executive Orders

Amid fierce political debate, New York schools have new guidance on diversity and admissions. Attorney General Letitia James joined the attorneys general of Illinois, Massachusetts, and 11 other states to tell schools to keep helping kids from every background and supporting diversity among the student body.

“The administration cannot ban diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts with a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter,” James said in a written statement announcing the guidance, which is available at the bottom of this story. “Schools and educational institutions can rest assured that they are well within their legal rights to continue building inclusive learning environments for their students. {snip}”

James and her coalition want K-12 schools, colleges, and universities to continue diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) programs that foster safe learning environments. According to their guidance, such programs are both legal and necessary to improve performance at these schools. Plus, schools still have to follow state civil rights laws; in New York, protections go beyond federal law.

Their guidance came after executive orders and a U.S. Department of Education “Dear Colleague” letter that threatened DEIA efforts. Those tried to limit how schools use race in admissions, but the attorneys general—the top law enforcement agents from 14 states—said their laws and requirements for schools haven’t changed. They said that executive orders and a letter from the Department of Education don’t cancel out hard-earned, longstanding legal obligations to teach and recruit all students.

The guidance advised academic institutions from pre-K to post-graduate to carefully rework their rules to make sure they’re not offering advantages based on diversity quotas alone. Still, the attorneys general assured their schools that current practices remain legal if done correctly, and that schools should carry on without fear of getting into legal trouble. They urged principals in their states to update anti-bullying and anti-harassment plans, invest in new training, and work with local families while stearing clear of anything that triggers federal investigations or retaliation.

The guidance explains that schools can collect data on race and ethnicity and use it for research or evaluations, but can’t give an individual preferential treatment based on that data alone. {snip}

The set of executive orders from January told federal agencies to drop DEIA programs and replace any race- or sex-based special treatment with a focus on skill, merit, and hard work. Federal agencies were directed to close offices, cancel equity action plans, and cut positions or drop titles like “Chief Diversity Officer.”

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