President Donald Trump issued an expansive executive order last week to end illegal preferences and discrimination endemic in diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. During its implementation, let’s hope the U.S. secretary of education applies this directive to K-12 public education, which is deeply plagued with DEI cancer to the detriment of our nation’s children.
Conservative efforts to promote fairness and counter DEI initiatives in education so far have been focused mainly on higher education. In 2023, for example, the Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College determined that Harvard’s race-conscious admissions program violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Shortly thereafter, in February 2024, the Supreme Court declined to hear a similar case involving DEI policies in K-12 admissions, Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board. In December 2024, the Supreme Court denied certiorari to another K-12 public education case involving a magnet school using an equity-over-merit admissions system, Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence Corp. v. The School Committee for the City of Boston.
