Major Victory for Public Education as Trump Administration Abandons Appeal on “Dear Colleague Letter”

BALTIMORE – Today marks a final defeat in the Trump-Vance administration’s attempt to require school districts throughout the nation to censor lessons, abandon student support programs, and certify their compliance with the administration’s unlawful interpretation of civil rights. In 2025, the U.S. District Court for Maryland ruled in favor of a coalition of nationwide associations of educators and a public school district that had challenged the administration actions in American Federation of Teachers et al v. U.S. Department of Education et al. The government filed a notice today withdrawing its appeal of the district court’s final judgment, finalizing the invalidation of the government’s actions.

“This is a huge victory for kids,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “In this case, with the stroke of a pen, the administration tried to take a hatchet to 60 years of civil rights laws that were meant to create educational opportunity to for all kids. They attempted to rewrite and redefine opportunity to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion and threatened schools and districts with penalties if they failed to comply. It took a union to stand in the stead of kids and educators who feared retribution from the government.

“When you fight you don’t always win, but you never win without a fight. We are proud that this case has once again halted the administration’s pattern of using executive fiat to undermine America’s laws that enshrine justice and opportunity for all.”

Since January 2025, there have been hundreds of federal lawsuits filed against the Trump-Vance administration challenging its harmful policies and practices. A new analysis by Democracy Forward, issued today, notes that the administration is losing court orders in these cases by large amounts – their loss rate fluctuates but has generally been between 70-80%.

The coalition was represented by Democracy Forward. “Today’s dismissal confirms what the data shows: government attorneys are having an increasingly difficult time defending the lawlessness of the president and his cabinet. And, when people show up and resist, they win. This is a welcome relief and a meaningful win for public education,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Though today is a victory against the administration’s unlawful crusade against civil rights, equity, and inclusion, we know the fight to protect public education is far from over. Democracy Forward is honored to represent educators, sociologists, unions, and public school districts whose courage and bravery has made a difference in the lives of millions of students.”

The case was filed by the AFT, AFT-Maryland, the American Sociological Association, and Eugene School District 4J, challenging a “Dear Colleague Letter,” published by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on February 14, 2025, which threatened that federal funding would be withheld from education institutions that teach students critical history, sociology, and other lessons that may reference race, provide support to students in the form of diversity, equity, or inclusion programming, or attempt to foster inclusive school environments for students of all backgrounds, among other efforts. The Department followed this letter with a requirement that every state and school district sign a Certification, under threat of termination of funding and criminal penalty, that they would adhere to the administration’s unlawful interpretation of civil rights.

The court’s ruling vacated the letter and the certification, holding that both are unconstitutional, unlawful, and the process the administration pursued to create the requirements did not comply with the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). Those rulings will now stand and neither the letter nor the certification requirement can be enforced against any school in the country.

“Plaintiffs have shown that neither challenged agency action was promulgated in accordance with the procedural requirements of the APA, and that both actions run afoul of important constitutional rights,” read the ruling from Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher.

The Democracy Forward legal team includes Maddy Gitomer, Brooke Menschel, Kali Schellenberg, Andrew Bookbinder, and Victoria Nugent.

The full amended complaint can be found here and the motion to dismiss is here.