By Tristan Weisenbach
Editor-in-Chief
In a letter sent to all schools on Friday, Feb. 14, the Education Department warned of a two-week deadline for schools to eliminate any race-based programs or face the possibility of losing federal funding, according to The New York Times.
The letter states that any programs included in hiring, scholarships, administrative support or “all other aspects of student, academic and campus life” that incorporate race in any way must be eliminated.
“We have received the letter and are aware of the Department of Education’s guidance,” said Luke Sacks, the College’s head media relations officer. He said the College is awaiting promised further clarification from the ED about this new policy implementation.
The College receives federal funding largely for faculty research grants and Pell grants, according to Sacks. However, he stressed that this funding is not immediately jeopardized, and that this situation is subject to change upon further clarification from the ED.
In explaining the rationale for the policy, the letter critiqued the content and goals of programs such as diversity, equity and inclusion, claiming that they “frequently preference certain racial groups and teach students that certain racial groups bear unique moral burdens that others do not. Such programs stigmatize students who belong to particular racial groups based on crude racial stereotypes.”
It is unclear at this time what programs at the College could be impacted by the letter’s policy, should it be fully enforced by the Trump administration.
Education experts have raised concerns on the impact that this policy — which applies to all preschool, elementary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions that received ED funding — could have on educational programs in schools across the country.
“We don’t agree with the conclusions they’re drawing and we’re not sure a lot of courts will agree with the conclusions they’re drawing,” Jon Fansmith, senior vice president for government relations and national engagement at the American Council on Education, told Inside Higher Ed. “This idea that anything that speaks to diversity is somehow discriminatory is very, very far out of the norm and very much outside of the law.”
According to Inside Higher Ed, many of the Trump administration’s previous executive orders and policy memos have been challenged in court.
The ED letter states that compliance on eliminating race-based programs is set to be enforced on Feb. 28.
