Lyons Township High Need Not Answer Trump: State

LA GRANGE, IL – In the state's judgment, Lyons Township High School and the state's other 850 school systems don't need to answer the request about DEI from Donald Trump's Department of Education.

Last week, the department demanded states and local school districts to certify within 10 days that they have no diversity, equity and inclusion programs that favor one race over another.

The agency threatened to revoke money to schools if they did not sign the certifications.

On Wednesday, Tony Sanders, state superintendent of education, questioned the legal basis for the request. And he said the federal government did not define in its request the terms "certain DEI practices" or "illegal DEI."

Sanders contended Trump's new Department of Education had an "abrupt shift" on DEI from the previous Trump administration.

He pointed to a 2020 news story in which Trump's last education secretary, Betsy DeVos, said "(d)iversity and inclusion are the cornerstones of high organizational performance."

DeVos also said "embracing diversity and inclusion are key elements of success" for "building strong teams."

The department, Sanders said, has not explained how and why it changed its position.

Sanders said the state regularly submits applications certifying compliance with laws, including those for civil rights.

"Please provide the legal authority for permitting USDOE to require a State Education Agency to obtain individual certifications from each of its (school districts)," he said.

Lyons Township High School receives about $3.7 million a year from the feds, making up about 3.6 percent of the budget, according to the Illinois Report Card.