The U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) advising educational institutions receiving federal funds to cease using race as a factor in admissions, hiring, promotions, compensation, scholarships, discipline, and related areas. The DCL targets programs that promote or support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and while ED includes a footnote that the DCL “does not have the force and effect of law and does not bind the public or create new legal standards,” it also warns educational institutions that “…noncompliance could result in investigations and loss of federal funding, with enforcement beginning within 14 days.” In direct response, lawyers who study and teach antidiscrimination law, education law, employment law, constitutional law, and civil rights have issued a joint public letter expressing “concern” that federally funded institutions will “eliminate, or already have eliminated, important DEI initiatives that remain legally defensible and often further institutions’ legal obligations under federal laws. They summarize their response by noting. “ … under prevailing federal civil rights laws and Supreme Court precedent, DEI initiatives that do not employ racial classifications or otherwise limit opportunity to individuals from certain racial groups remain legally secure…[and] urge(s) school leaders not to sacrifice essential and legally defensible DEI initiatives.”