On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued a letter to State Commissioners responsible for K-12 State Education Agencies (SEAs), instructing them to certify compliance with the Administration’s policies regarding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as a condition of continuing to receive federal education formula funding available under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. ED warned that Title I funding—aimed at schools serving low-income students—would be withheld unless officials complied with the directive. The memo requires state and local officials to sign and submit a certification letter within 10 days, despite the lack of clarity from the Administration about which programs breach its interpretation of civil rights laws, as well as an ongoing lawsuit challenging the policy’s legal credibility. 

Read the certification memo here.