Education Department is backing away from addressing civil rights for Black students

For generations, the federal government enforced civil rights laws with an eye toward remedying historic, systemic discrimination against Black people and other people of color. The Justice Department pressed schools to desegregate. The Education Department worked to promote equal opportunity and held schools accountable for racial bias. But under the Trump administration, efforts to address deep-rooted inequities for students of color are being cast as discriminatory against white students. In correspondence discouraging districts’ diversity programs, the administration has cited a broad interpretation of the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action, which prevented colleges and universities from directly considering race in admissions. While that ruling pertained only to admissions, the administration notified schools that any differential consideration based on race was unconstitutional. Civil rights organizations and education advocates say the shift threatens decades of progress in school equity and integration efforts nationwide.

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Source: ABC News Published: June 3, 2026