Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction won’t approve a federal anti-DEI certification request, potentially putting state school districts’ federal funding at risk.
“This is about local control,” state superintendent Jill Underly said. “It’s about Washington, D.C., wanting to dictate how schools from Racine to Green Bay to Ashland educate their kids.”
On April 3, the U.S. Education Department announced it was requiring all state education leaders overseeing K-12 school districts to certify antidiscrimination obligations or risk losing federal funding. After raising initial concerns over the request’s lack of clarity and apparent overreach, the DPI said April 18 it won’t submit the certification, saying the education department hasn’t responded to those concerns.
In a response to the federal agency, DPI general counsel Benjamin Jones included assurances from school districts that they’ll comply with “all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.” But one key request from the education department was missing from the DPI response: compliance with a 2023 anti-affirmative action decision.
The DPI received no responses to the questions it raised about the certification. Underly said she couldn’t sign in good conscience, because she didn’t know what she’d be agreeing to.
“This letter that they sent us was their interpretation of what should be followed. But that’s not law,” Underly said. “Wisconsin schools are already following a law that’s in place, and that’s what our letter made absolutely clear.”
What did the Education Department request?
The department requested state education commissioners, like Underly, to certify their compliance with Title VI, which prevents racial discrimination, and a 2023 Supreme Court decision, SFFA v. Harvard, that outlawed race-based affirmative action programs.
In the letter requesting certification, the Department of Education asserted that certain diversity, equity and inclusion programs violate antidiscrimination law. Because of that, it said it could cut federal funding to any state or local education agency with DEI programs.
This isn’t the first federal funding threat sent out under the Trump administration. On Feb. 14, the education department sent a “dear colleague” letter to school districts nationwide as notice of its interpretation of illegal discriminatory practices, such as support programs for historically marginalized communities.
What did the DPI say?
In a news release, the DPI said it would not complete the Department of Education’s requested certification due to the order’s lack of clarity, failure to follow procedure around imposing funding conditions and impact on local control.
Instead, it submitted certifications that every Wisconsin school district will comply with “all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements,” such as Title VI, Title IX and FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Title IX protects students from sex discrimination, and FERPA is a student privacy law.
Those district certifications are submitted at the beginning of every school year, Underly said, and they show that the state upholds antidiscrimination law. Notably absent from the list was the SFFA v. Harvard affirmative action decision.
If the submitted school district certifications don’t meet federal funding conditions, Jones, DPI’s general counsel, asked the education department to explain the legal basis behind those conditions and why approving “all applicable” requirements wouldn’t meet them.
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The DPI isn’t collecting certifications from districts, so schools can’t independently certify.
For Underly to sign the certification, she said, the Department of Education would need to provide more information on what was being agreed to. There are also constitutional questions because there wasn’t notice or a comment period, she said.
“This is just another way for the federal government to bypass Congress and dictate what we’re doing in our schools,” Underly said.
What have other states done?
Wisconsin is one of 15 states that have declined to certify the request as of April 17, according to EdWeek. Thirteen of those states, including Wisconsin, have Democratic governors, while Utah and Vermont are led by Republicans.
Sixteen states and Puerto Rico have said they intend to certify the request, and the rest haven’t said.
Underly said she spoke to about a dozen other state superintendents, who were all in agreement about the threat to local control.
What federal funds may be at risk?
Federal dollars are vital for Wisconsin schools, Underly said. If that funding were to go away, the state would have to fill that gap. While she’s talked to legislators about what that would look like, those conversations have all been in the broader context of school funding issues.
U.S. Education Department dollars account for $568.2 million in education funding, which is equivalent to over 6,100 educator jobs, according to DPI. Overall federal funding counts for $842.9 million.
Federal funding supports low-income schools through Title I programs, special education, free and reduced lunch and Head Start, which is already facing a major funding drop.
In the Milwaukee area, federal funds account for 2%-20% of total district funding, with Milwaukee Public Schools at 20%. Around Green Bay, federal dollars make up 4-10% of total funding, and in the Fox Valley, those funds make up 3%-11%.
Underly said she spoke to several district superintendents, who all agreed with the DPI’s decision.
“They also see the perspective that they’re in compliance with the law already,” Underly said. “They want to focus on doing what’s best for kids and families.”
Contact Green Bay education reporter Nadia Scharf at nscharf@gannett.com or on X at @nadiaascharf.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: DPI won’t certify Trump administration anti-DEI request. Why?
