Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont (D) and state Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker have notified the Trump administration that they will not end diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in their schools.
In doing so, they risk losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.
Earlier this month, the federal Department of Education asked state officials to sign a letter confirming they complied with anti-discrimination obligations, meaning no DEI in schools.
Doing so, the letter said, was a condition for receiving federal funding.
“Any violation of Title VI—including the use of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) programs to advantage one’s race over another—is impermissible. The use of certain DEI practices can violate federal law,” the letter reads.
Lamont said the state is already following federal anti-discrimination laws and will not sign the letter.
“I want our teachers and our principals and superintendents to keep doing what they're doing, which is make sure that every single kid feels very welcome in our schools and do the outreach necessary to make sure they want to come to school,” he told reporters at an unrelated event on Thursday. “We have some kids who are scared to come to school right now, some Hispanic kids in particular, and I want to make sure they come to school.”
Lamont said the state stands to lose around $325 million in federal funding. He said he’s taking things one step at a time and isn’t ready to declare an emergency or allocate state money to replace the federal funds if they are pulled.
“Let me deal with the crises when they actually arrive,” Lamont said.
State Republican Party chair Ben Proto called the decision not to sign the letter “thoroughly disappointing.”
“At its core, DEI divides us by race or other aspects of our identity, and then prioritizes that identity over merit,” Proto said. “So-called diversity, equity, and inclusion programs have no place in our country, let alone in our classrooms. By continuing these practices, the State of Connecticut remains out of compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the precedent set by the Supreme Court in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.”
