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Baltimore, Md.—A coalition of educators have filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s weaponize and undermining of civil rights laws.
The suit, filed in federal court in Maryland, is brought by the AFT, AFT-Maryland and the American Sociological Association. The complaint challenges a “Dear Colleague” letter published by the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights on Feb. 14, which threatened that federal funding would be withheld from education institutions that teach accurate history and lessons about slavery, diversity and inclusion, among other efforts. The complaint argues that the letter will do a disservice to students and ultimately the nation by weakening schools as portals to opportunity and incubators for creative, innovative and critical thinking.
“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. “This vague and clearly unconstitutional memo is a grave attack on students, our profession and knowledge itself. It would hamper efforts to extend access to education, and dash the promise of equal opportunity for all, a central tenant of the United States since its founding. It would ban meaningful instruction on slavery, the Missouri Compromise, the Emancipation Proclamation, the forced relocation of Native American tribes, the laws of Jim Crow, Brown v. Board of Education, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. It would upend campus life.
“Federal statute already prohibits any president from telling schools and colleges what to teach. And students have the right to learn without the threat of culture wars waged by extremist politicians hanging over their heads. Our suit exposes these harms and shows how this memo’s arbitrary and capricious reasoning flies in the face of both American values and established law,” continued President Weingarten.
