AGs File Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Over Unlawful Conditions on Education Funding
Chicago — Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul today co-led a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit seeking to stop the U.S. Department of Education from withholding federal funding from state and local agencies that refuse to abandon lawful programs and policies promoting equal access to education in K-12 classrooms across the nation.
On April 3, 2025, the Department of Education informed state and local agencies that they must accept the Trump administration’s new and legally incoherent interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with respect to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts – or else risk immediate and catastrophic loss of federal education funds. In Illinois, this would mean the immediate loss of almost $1.4 billion in congressionally mandated financial support for schools.
“The Trump administration is now attempting to illegally stop the allocation of these Congressionally-mandated funds in order to push a vague, anti-DEI agenda at the expense of some of the most vulnerable children in Illinois and across the country,” Raoul said. “I proudly stand with my fellow Attorneys General to defend this important funding and help ensure that all children have access to a quality public education.”
The administration has not defined which diversity, equity and inclusion practices it finds objectionable, or the basis of its legal objections. Illinois, like many other states, refused to certify its compliance under the terms of the administration’s new requirements, explaining that there is no lawful or practical way to do so given the department’s vague, contradictory and legally unsupported interpretation of Title VI. In filing today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Raoul and the coalition seek to bar the department from withholding any funding based on these unlawful conditions.
The funding at stake includes financial support to ensure that students from rural and low-income families have the same access to high-quality education as their peers, provide special education services, recruit and train highly skilled and dedicated teachers, fund programming for non-native speakers to learn English, provide support to vulnerable children in foster care and without housing, and provide technical programs to put our students on the path to careers.
As a condition of receiving these funds, state and local education agencies provide written assurances they will comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin. Illinois has consistently and regularly certified its compliance with Title VI and its implementing regulations. However, the Department of Education’s letter conditioned continued federal financial assistance on state and local education agencies certifying that they are not operating programs inconsistent with the Trump administration’s view that some undefined efforts supporting diversity, equity and inclusion are unlawful.
The letter forced state and local agencies to choose between two untenable options. States could refuse to submit a new certification based on the department’s undefined viewpoint on what constitutes unlawful diversity, equity and inclusion programs, curriculum, instruction, and policies, and place federal funding in peril, or certify compliance and attempt to identify and eliminate lawful diversity, equity and inclusion to the detriment of students. Even if those steps were taken, states could still face liability for failing to fully comply with the department’s vague and ill-defined order. Faced with this choice, Illinois informed the department that it stands by its prior certifications of compliance with Title VI and its lawfully issued implementing regulations already in the department’s possession.
In their lawsuit, Raoul and the multistate coalition assert that the department’s attempt to terminate federal education funding based on its misinterpretation of Title VI violates the Spending Clause, the Appropriations Clause, the separation of powers, and the Administrative Procedures Act.
Attorney General Raoul co-led this lawsuit with attorneys general of California, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York. They were joined in filing the lawsuit by attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
