California joined several other states Friday in suing the Trump administration over its demand that public schools eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives or risk losing federal funding — expanding its defiance in a standoff with high stakes for students across the state.
The lawsuit from California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and other state attorneys general came one day after a Trump administration deadline for state officials to collect certifications from every school district in the nation confirming that all DEI efforts had been eliminated, on the argument that such DEI initiatives amount to illegal discrimination.
And it comes two weeks after the California Department of Education defended the legality of DEI efforts in a letter to school district superintendents. Bonta took a similar stance in announcing the lawsuit Friday.
“The U.S. Department of Education is unapologetically abandoning its mission to ensure…
