All public school entities in North Carolina have certified to the U.S. Department of Education that they comply with federal Title VI laws against discrimination.
The Trump administration required that certification in an April 3 letter that advanced the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools and government at large.
But North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green said at Thursday's state Board of Education meeting that the state submitted its certifications with a caveat — the state believes it already complied with Title VI and is not making any new interpretation of the law as a result of the Trump administration's letter.
“The U.S. Department’s request contains broad statements about, ‘diversity, equity and inclusion,’ without clearly defining what specific practices might violate Title VI," Green said. "This lack of clarity creates ambiguity about what we were being asked to certify.”
Green said in a letter to the federal government that his department believed the certification request was “redundant” and maintained that the Department of Education lacked the authority to unilaterally change rules about Title VI.
He maintained the state’s schools would continue to “ensure fairness, remove barriers to opportunity and make decisions based on merit and need.” The U.S. Department of Education’s April 3 letter said any use of DEI programs to advance one race over another is “impermissible.”
