Deciding not to pick a fight with the Trump administration, Maryland school leaders plan to sign a letter to the U.S. Department of Education that says their school districts are complying with all civil rights laws.

The two-paragraph letter could deflect a confrontation over whether the state’s public schools run diversity, equity and inclusion programs that the Trump administration has called illegal. The Baltimore Banner reviewed the letter, which was shared by a school administrator who declined to be identified because the letter has not yet been sent.

Maryland school leaders are taking a more conciliatory approach than those in some other states. Education leaders in Minnesota, New York, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont and Wisconsin said they will not comply with the federal education department’s order, the demands of which, they say, are based on a warped interpretation of civil rights law.

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in a letter to state and local school superintendents on April 3 that they must certify their compliance with “antidiscrimination obligations” by April 14 to continue receiving federal funds for high-poverty schools, known as Title I funds.

Maryland receives $314 million in Title I funding. Although all school systems receive money, some school systems with higher percentages of Title I schools would risk losing more. Baltimore City receives $71 million, and Prince George’s, Montgomery and Baltimore counties receive more than $45 million each. Although these funds are not a major portion of their budgets, they are significant, and the federal education department made other sudden cuts this month.

Several groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and teachers unions, have filed suit to block the federal action.

On Wednesday, the American Federation of Teachers, along with other groups, asked a federal judge to grant a preliminary injunction to prevent the federal education department from requiring districts to certify they are in compliance.

“If we cannot teach the complex history of every student and meet the diverse needs of every student, then we cannot have an education system that serves all Marylanders,” AFT Maryland President Kenya Campbell said in a statement.

The ACLU and the National Education Association, a teachers union, sued the federal government and then reached an agreement on Wednesday that prohibits the department from investigating or terminating funding from public schools for diversity, equity and inclusion programs until April 24.

The ACLU said in a press release that the Trump administration is threatening to punish students, parents and educators in public schools for “fostering inclusive classrooms where diversity is valued, history is taught honestly.”

Maryland school system superintendents have discussed standing together and signing the letter written by Maryland State Department of Education officials, according to the administrator with knowledge of the discussions. The department was expected to send the letter, signed by superintendents, next week, but it is unclear what will happen given the extended deadline.

“We are reviewing their request internally and have no comment at this time,” said Raven Hill, a spokesperson for the state education department.

The letter reads, in part: “I acknowledge the LEA [local education agency]’s full compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964....and its prohibition against discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin, as well as related federal regulatory authority and other mandatory authority.”

It also acknowledges that receiving federal funding is conditioned on complying with nondiscrimination laws.

The Trump administration contends that many public schools are breaking the nondiscrimination laws by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another group based on “identity characteristics.”

The federal education department, however, has not clarified for states exactly what programs it believes do not meet the provisions of the civil rights act. Some states have challenged the policy, citing the lack of clarity.

For instance, it is unclear whether the federal government would consider the Advanced Placement African American Studies class in violation of the department’s order. A number of Maryland schools offer the class, which delves into the history and culture of African Americans.

The federal government has generally left decisions about curriculum and what gets taught in the classroom to the states, with few exceptions, said Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“It is a very radical view of the powers of the president, and I don’t think it is supported by law,” Orfield said of the recent action requiring states to certify what they are teaching.

“The idea that someone should be moving in and claiming they have the right to cut off funds is a truly radical idea,” Orfield said. He hopes states stick together in opposing the action, sue and win.

Sasha Pudelski, advocacy director for the national School Superintendents Association, said states are taking three tacks in responding to the federal education department: refusing to sign, signing on behalf of all the state’s school districts or leaving the decision to each district in the state.

She said the state superintendents in Maryland, Missouri and Delaware have taken the lead. “This is a fluid situation,” she said, adding that some states have yet to make up their minds.

Maryland, or one of its school districts, could still be targeted by the federal government, even if it signs the letter.

But, if federal funds are taken away, the state could sue, as it did earlier Friday when it joined at least a dozen other states in protesting the education department’s revocation of federal pandemic relief funds.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.