Teachers Unions Are Suing over Trump’s DEI Reversal—And They Might Win

I’m a former public school teacher who believes in merit over racial preferences. Of course, all American teachers should believe in such colorblind meritocracy, but unfortunately, we know that is not the case. I’ve seen firsthand how the Left’s departure from the core American principle of merit over skin color, practiced today under the guise of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) policies, has poisoned our educational system. Instead of focusing on academic excellence, discipline, and real opportunity, these DEI programs have turned classrooms into ideological battlegrounds where race and identity politics take priority over hard work and achievement.

With the Trump administration reversing these policies, teachers unions are losing their minds and suing to keep DEI alive. If that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about their priorities, I don’t know what will.

The DEI Crackdown and the Left’s Panic

The Trump administration ordered federally funded schools and universities to shut down DEI programs or risk losing funding. If the Trump administration follows through on this threat, it will be a huge win for students who want to succeed on merit, instead of being handed advantages or disadvantages based on skin color or gender quotas.

Predictably, teachers unions, leftist activists, and the ACLU are suing to block this order. They claim it attacks equity and violates free speech. But let’s be honest—what they’re really upset about is losing their power to push racially charged propaganda and narratives in public schools.

The National Education Association (NEA), in collaboration with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s Department of Education on March 5 over a Dear Colleague letter that threatens funding cuts for public schools continuing DEI practices. In response, NEA President Becky Pringle urged the court to “block the Department of Education from enforcing this harmful and vague directive and protect students from politically motivated attacks that stifle speech and critical lessons” (emphasis added). Similarly, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the second-largest teachers union, is also suing the administration for the same reasons. AFT President Randi Weingarten called the administration’s directive a “vague and clearly unconstitutional memo” and a “grave attack on students, our profession, and knowledge itself” (emphasis added).

Notice the pattern? Both lawsuits hinge on the argument that the directive is too vague. And that’s precisely how they will win unless it’s fixed.

This is not baseless speculation. We’ve already seen how unclear bans can fail in court. In New Hampshire, educators successfully sued the state over a prohibition on “banned concepts” related to race, gender, sexuality, and disabilities. Teachers argued the law left them unsure of what they could and couldn’t teach, and because of that uncertainty, they won their case. The DEI ban handed down by the Trump administration must be clearly defined if we don’t want the same outcome to happen here. The Left is using vagueness as a loophole to keep their agenda in schools.

Why Are Unions Fighting So Hard for DEI?

DEI isn’t about diversity; it’s about control. It’s about forcing teachers and students into ideological submission that many may not agree with. It’s about shaming kids for the color of their skin if they are white and putting victim narratives on children if they are part of an “oppressed class,” along with lowering standards to meet racial quotas and punishing anyone who dares to push back.

When I was a public school teacher, I saw this shift in priorities happen in real time. Teachers were pressured to change grading policies because too many “marginalized” students were failing—not because they weren’t capable, but because expectations were removed. Advanced students were held back to make things “equitable.” I saw the disappearance of Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors classes because there were not enough minority students enrolled. Discipline policies became a joke, with schools refusing to punish disruptive students because holding them accountable was considered “racist.”

Students were given lessons on white privilege, intersectionality, dominant ideologies of the oppressor race (which was, of course, white), hegemony, and pro-BLM narratives carefully curated to fit a specific agenda. When I presented my objections to these lessons at a school board meeting, the board president called me “anti–people of color” (me, a Jamaican woman!) along with another black parent who was speaking against these divisive lessons.

Not to mention the absurd pandering that DEI creates, I was given a gift just for being a black teacher. It included a “Black Educators Matter” mask, an “I Love Being Black” sticker, and a letter greeting me with the pagan African phrase “Hotep.” No white teachers received anything like that. A district-sponsored gift with “I Love Being White” stickers would result in nationwide headlines.

What DEI Looks Like in the Classroom

This is what DEI looks like in schools, which is exactly why the bans must be specific. The only way to win this fight is to clearly define DEI policies, provide specific examples of how they corrupt classrooms, and hold schools accountable when they try to sneak them back under new names.

The Trump administration is right to dismantle DEI, but the fight isn’t over. Teachers unions aren’t backing down, and they’re using the same vague language loophole they’ve used before to get DEI bans overturned. We risk losing this fight entirely if we fail to clearly define DEI policies and expose them for what they are. We must stay vigilant and ensure that DEI’s divisive (and racist) agenda is uprooted from our public schools for good.

Source: https://capitalresearch.org/article/teachers-unions-are-suing-over-trumps-dei-reversal-and-they-might-win/