Trump Orders Schools, Colleges to End DEI or Lose Federal Funding

The measure would affect a range of programs, from special education to university research.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, on Jan. 20, 2025. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s latest executive action will cut off federal funding to any learning institutions that mandate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) provisions or hire contractors that engage in such practices.

According to the Jan. 21 order, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” any schools that receive federal money, including funds for special education programs and low-income student populations in K-12 schools or federal student loan programs (Pell grants) in colleges and universities, will be issued guidance for complying with this mandate within 120 days.

The Attorney General, U.S. Department of Education, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have also been assigned to identify the “most egregious and discriminatory practitioners in each sector of concern.”

The Department of Education is asked to identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations pertaining to colleges and universities with endowments exceeding $1 billion. That list could include all Ivy League institutions, several elite private schools, and large research-based public universities across the country.

“Illegal DEI and DEIA policies not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system,” the order stated. “Hardworking Americans who deserve a shot at the American Dream should not be stigmatized, demeaned, or shut out of opportunities because of their race or sex.”

The measure would also impact the Council of Higher Education Accreditation and the many college and university credentialing agencies it oversees. Under the 1965 Higher Education Act, college majors are required to be accredited in order to get federal money for research and other functions.

Immediately after the executive order was issued, Nicki Neily, founder and president of Parents Defending Education, issued a statement saying that ending DEI will prepare the next generation for success.

“President Trump’s executive orders eliminating DEI programs in education mark a crucial step toward restoring schools’ focus on American exceptionalism and academic achievement. For too long, DEI has prioritized divisive identity politics over education, even as reading and math scores hit record lows,” Neily said.

“This move ensures much-needed clarity and accountability, empowering schools to prioritize student success without imposing radical ideologies. Parents have long voiced concerns about DEI’s lack of transparency and its erosion of merit. These orders honor parental rights, foster critical thinking, and shield students from indoctrination.”

Critics, including the National Education Association, said the order leaves certain students behind.

“Most Americans believe that every student deserves opportunity, resources, and support to reach their full potential no matter where they live, the color of their skin, or how much their family earns,” said Becky Pringle, president of the public school teachers’ union, in a statement on Jan. 20, ahead of Trump’s executive order. “Donald Trump’s actions today do nothing to help students learn and grow, nothing to support parents, and nothing to assist educators in inspiring their students to learn and helping them succeed.”

Neal McCluskey, director of the Cato Institute Center for Education Freedom in Washington, previously told The Epoch Times that smaller federally funded programs that fund accelerated learning loss recovery in core subjects, nutrition, career and technical education, and various other areas related to academics or student wellness could be defunded if the schools or the contractors hired by schools support DEI initiatives.