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By Melanie Asmar, Chalkbeat
Colorado will refuse a demand from the Trump administration to certify that its schools have eliminated what the federal government says are illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, state Commissioner of Education Susana Córdova said Thursday.
“I am not signing that,” Córdova said. “I am not asking our districts to sign that.”
However, Córdova told the State Board of Education she will sign a new assurance that the state is in compliance with Title VI, which bans discrimination on the basis of race, “so that my name, in addition to the department’s previous commissioner who signed our previous assurance, is on file and on record to be able to indicate that we are fully enforcing Title VI.”
The U.S. Department of Education told state education agencies on April 3 that they must certify they are in compliance with the Trump administration’s contested interpretation of federal civil rights law when it comes to such programs. States that don’t sign will lose their federal funding, including Title I dollars for high-poverty schools, the federal department said.
Colorado received about $800 million in federal funding this school year, a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Education said. That included about $168 million in Title I funds.
The deadline for states to sign the certification is April 24. States’ reactions have been mixed.
New York officials have said they won’t comply. Illinois’ school chief is also pushing back. Pennsylvania officials are signaling they will not order schools to eliminate DEI initiatives. But the Indiana Department of Education said it “fully intends to sign the certification.”
Córdova said the Trump administration’s request runs afoul of a federal law called the Paperwork Reduction Act. The law says that when federal agencies want to collect information, they must follow a process that includes posting a public notice and holding two public comment periods — one for 60 days and one for 30 days — to gather feedback on the request.
When a collection request has gone through that process, it’s assigned a number from the federal Office of Management and Budget, Córdova said. The April 3 request has no such number, she said, “and so it would be unlawful to restrict federal funding because somebody declines to sign a document that we’re not legally obligated to sign.
“And frankly I would be uncomfortable signing a certification that binds us to federal guidance that doesn’t have the force of law,” Córdova added. “I would be uncomfortable signing a certification that lacks definitions and clarity around what is and is not prohibited.”
There is significant confusion about what the Trump administration considers discriminatory DEI practices. The Education Department put out guidance earlier this year that clarified that schools could, for example, teach African American History and celebrate Black History Month. But programming that “acts to shame” students based on their race or “accuse them of being oppressors” could create a hostile environment, the department said.
In addition to discussing the matter with the State Board of Education, Córdova sent a letter to school district leaders outlining the state’s position in which she recognized “how critical federal funding is for the conditions every child needs to learn, grow, and thrive.”
State Board members did not vote Thursday on whether to support Córdova’s stance. A state attorney said it’s up to Córdova how to respond to the Trump administration’s request.
Republican and Democratic members of the State Board said they agreed with Colorado’s interpretation of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
“We should not consider who’s in charge and who’s running the administration, but whether or not under any administration we believe the system should be followed,” said Kristi Burton Brown, a Republican who represents the 4th Congressional District.
Burton Brown said it’s important that Córdova will sign a separate certification that Colorado is complying with Title VI, which includes an assurance that Colorado will follow “all regulations, guidelines, and standards” issued by the federal education department.
Republican Steve Durham, who represents the 5th Congressional District, said he too believes the Paperwork Reduction Act should be followed. But, he added, “the real reason, I think, behind not signing this is political rather than legal.
“There can be significant debate or disagreement about what DEI actually is,” Durham said. “But there is plenty of evidence of its misuse.”
He said the real issue is whether Colorado is complying with Title VI — and if it is in compliance, “there’s no reason not to make the certification.”
Democrat Karla Esser from 7th Congressional District said the state should not sign the certification and agreed that DEI is hard to define. “If you ask 15 people to define DEI, all 15 would define it differently,” she said. “So because we have no definition, I wouldn’t sign it to begin with, even if it did have an OMB number.”
Democrat Kathy Plomer, an at-large board member who represents the entire state, emphasized that the stakes are high and that Colorado risks losing its federal funding if it signs the certification and is then found to be in violation of Title VI.
“If you mistakenly sign and then somebody says, ‘Oh, I think they violated it,’ and somehow we’re in a position where we’re in a different legal status, that really scares me,” Plomer said.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at [email protected].
