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The U.S. Department of Education has removed hundreds of documents from its website, placed staff on paid leave, and halted active contracts to comply with President Donald Trump’s order to end any programs that promote diversity, inclusion, or equity.
“These actions are in line with President Trump’s ongoing commitment to end illegal discrimination and wasteful spending across the federal government,” a department spokesperson said in a press release Thursday announcing the changes. “They are the first step in reorienting the agency toward prioritizing meaningful learning ahead of divisive ideology in our schools.”
Among the dozens of executive orders Trump signed on his first day in office was one titled, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.” It calls for the end of all diversity-related programs, firing of all staff associated with such programs, and the termination of all contracts connected to that work. It also calls for investigations into the costs of past diversity programs, and for the development of new civil rights policies to address what the administration sees as the harms of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
At certain points, the order also refers to ending DEIA, with the A referring to accessibility for people with disabilities.
The stated purpose of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs is to encourage fair treatment for all people and reduce barriers that people from certain groups face due to historic disadvantages and ongoing prejudice. Critics of DEI programs have said they too often promote stereotypes and encourage institutions to overlook individual qualities and virtues. In its executive order, the Trump administration describes DEI programs as encouraging “illegal and immoral discrimination.”
Like critical race theory, or CRT, DEI has become an umbrella term to encompass more progressive approaches and perspectives on addressing racial inequality. The term DEI has even been deployed as a slur to disparage people of color and women in leadership positions.
The imprecision around what DEI means makes it hard to know what eliminating DEI will ultimately look like in terms of federal policy. In its press release, the department said it was continuing to look for programs using “coded or imprecise language to disguise their activity.” Federal employees have been given 10 days to report on DEI activities in their departments, and could face consequences if they are found to have kept quiet about such work.
The Education Department said it has dissolved its Diversity & Inclusion Council, as well as the Employee Engagement Diversity Equity Inclusion Accessibility Council within the Office for Civil Rights. It also said it has canceled ongoing contracts worth $2.6 million, placed an unknown number of career staff on paid administrative leave pending investigations into their work, and removed or archived more than 200 pages from its website.
The department also withdrew its Equity Action Plan. Former President Joe Biden had ordered every federal agency to develop these plans to improve how they support traditionally underserved communities.
The department did not respond Thursday afternoon to a request for additional information on the programs and guidance that have been withdrawn.
The website for the Equity Action Plan now reads “Page Not Found - 404.” Chalkbeat used the Wayback Machine, an internet archive, to access the version of the page that existed last week.
The equity action plan described efforts to improve college-going, pandemic learning recovery, and career and technical education for underserved students. The plan also described efforts to collect data on educational outcomes for LGBTQ students, who often face bullying and harassment at school.
A page on supporting Hispanic-serving colleges and universities shows as “archived or suspended,” while a similar page on Historically Black Colleges and Universities remains active.
Pages dealing with civil rights enforcement, supporting Black teacher candidates, and diversity-focused grant programs remain active as of Thursday evening.
The department said its review is ongoing.
Erica Meltzer is Chalkbeat’s national editor based in Colorado. Contact Erica at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org.
