In the latest manifestation of the Trump administration's earnest campaign against divisive Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, the Department of Education on Thursday announced the launch of an internet portal that citizens can use to report DEI-driven wrongdoings in publicly funded K-12 schools. The portal's debut comes as school officials across the country are shrugging off a Trump administration deadline to purge their institutions of DEI under threat of losing federal funding.
The web page, which has already gone live, is open for use by parents, students, teachers, and anyone else who wants to report destructive DEI practices at schools anywhere across the country. "The U.S. Department of Education is committed to ensuring all students have access to meaningful learning free of divisive ideologies and indoctrination," reads the text atop the portal, which is bluntly named "End DEI."
The department said it will use the reports to identify potential investigation targets, with the threat of a withdrawal of federal funding. The portal asks tipsters to provide their email address, identify the offending school or school district, and use up to 450 words to detail the DEI-flavored wrongdoing.
The End DEI portal is a way of adding teeth to a Feb. 14 Department of Education directive that gave schools two weeks to tear out discriminatory programs -- from hiring practices to segregated graduation ceremonies to indoctrination about "structural racism" -- or face federal enforcement action:
The Department will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this Nation’s educational institutions. The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent.
“For years, parents have been begging schools to focus on teaching their kids practical skills like reading, writing, and math, instead of pushing critical theory, rogue sex education and divisive ideologies—but their concerns have been brushed off, mocked, or shut down entirely,” said Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty in a statement encouraging parents to "share the receipts of the betrayal" that's unfolded in public schools. "This webpage demonstrates that President Trump’s Department of Education is putting power back in the hands of parents," she added.
Others don't share Justice's joy. “This so-called ‘tip line’ is a shameless attempt to silence educators and dismantle programs that ensure every child—no matter their race, gender, or background—has a fair shot at success," said Democratic Rep. Alma Adams, ranking member of the House Higher Education and Workforce Subcommittee.
Trump's war on government-facilitated DEI has predictably sparked resistance. Last Friday, US District Judge Adam Abelson, a Biden appointee, issued an injunction blocking the administration from canceling all federal contracts considered DEI-related. In his opinion, Abelson said Trump's order potentially discriminatory, and was worded vaguely to an extent that parties to federal contracts reasonably feared "arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement."
Meanwhile, government officials and education associations across the country are advising schools to continue doing business as they like. “There’s nothing to act on until we see the administration or its agencies try to stop something,” American Council on Education president Ted Mitchell told AP. “And then we’ll have the argument.”
Get ready -- the fur's about to fly.