Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:

Further Update Regarding Trump Administration’s Anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Directives and California’s Title VI Compliance

We are writing to update you on recent guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as orders by federal courts that continue to confirm that the Trump Administration cannot purport to change the law without going through appropriate procedures for doing so.

On July 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) issued guidance regarding its interpretation of Title VI. (1) Importantly, in that guidance the USDOJ acknowledges that the guidance does not contain “mandatory requirements,” but rather “recommendations” that are “non-binding suggestions.” As you know, existing federal and state laws already prohibit discrimination or preferential treatment in public schools, including on the basis of race.

As we have previously stated, there is nothing in state or federal law, including Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, that expressly prohibits the broad concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, programs, instruction, or curriculum. We have previously communicated with to you on this topic on February 21, April 4 and April 25 of this year. All of these communications are available on the California Department of Education’s (CDE) “Responses to 2025 Federal Actions and Communications” web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/fa.

The latest update on this matter is that on August 14, 2025, in one of the lawsuits challenging the federal administration’s recent actions relating to diversity, equity and inclusion, a federal court permanently enjoined the U.S. Department of Education (ED) from enforcing (1) the February 14, 2025 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, “Dear Colleague” letter and (2) the April 3, 2025 ED request that states sign and return a certification that each state and its local educational agencies comply with ED’s unsupported and incorrect interpretation of Title VI with respect to diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Among other things, the court concluded:

[B]y seeking to substantially alter the legal obligations of schools and educators without employing the procedures necessary to implement such a change, the government ran afoul of the APA’s [Administrative Procedure Act] procedural requirements. The regulation of speech cannot be done casually. After ample opportunity to acknowledge the supposedly unintended impacts of these policies on teachers’ freedom of speech, the government still downplays the massive change it announced through the Letter and Certification Requirement. The government did not merely remind educators that discrimination is illegal: it initiated a sea change in how the Department of Education regulates educational practices and classroom conduct, causing millions of educators to reasonably fear that their lawful, and even beneficial, speech might cause them or their schools to be punished. The law does not countenance the government’s hasty and summary treatment of these significant issues. (2)

We will continue to keep the field apprised of important information in response to federal actions. As mentioned, an ongoing list of the 2025 responses to federal actions is maintained on this CDE web page: https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/fa.

Thank you for your continued hard work on behalf of all students in the State of California. As we at the CDE continue to focus on moving the needle for student achievement, we again commend all California school staff who are maintaining a local focus on the all-important task of serving our students.

Sincerely,

Signed by

David Schapira
Chief Deputy Superintendent
Chief of Staff
California Department of Education

• (1) See “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination,” available at Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Releases Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination | United States Department of Justice .
• (2) American Federation of Teachers v. U.S. Department of Education, Case No. 1:25-cv-00628, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, August 14, 2025.