Loudoun County Schools' superintendent refuses to sign Trump administration's anti-DEI certification
LCPS refuses to sign Trump administration's anti-DEI certification
Loudoun County Public Schools superintendent said Thursday that he will not sign a form confirming that the district has done away with "illegal DEI" or "certain DEI practices" as required by the Department of Education.
LOUDOUN CO., Va. - A northern Virginia school district is at the risk of losing funding for not complying with an executive order from the Trump administration.
What they're saying:
Loudoun County Public Schools superintendent said Thursday that he will not sign a form confirming that the district has done away with "illegal DEI" or "certain DEI practices" as required by the Department of Education.
The deadline for school districts to comply with the federal government's order to end DEI in the classroom was April 24 and superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence says he will not sign the form or certification complying with the order.
The backstory:
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education gave Virginia's education department a deadline to make sure all of its districts comply with federal laws that prohibit discrimination and DEI programs in schools.
In a letter to families, Spence says LCPS "already certified our compliance with these laws and do so annually when applying for federal funding. So we do not understand what purpose this request serves."
Most importantly, he adds that the certification lacks clarity, saying, "It references ‘illegal DEI’ or ‘certain DEI practices’ without explaining what those terms mean or how they differ from the diversity, equity and inclusion programs and initiatives we currently have in place."
Local perspective:
FOX 5 spoke to Virginia's largest educators' union who supports Spence's decision.
"We are standing up for students' rights. We are standing up to make sure students get the resources that they need," said Carol Bauer with the Virginia Education Association. "Not recognizing that students have different backgrounds does a disservice to our students, both the students we are helping and other students as well."
Right now, it is unclear what will happen to funding since the school system has decided not to comply with the order.
In a statement to FOX 5, LCPS said, "We now understand two courts have issued injunctions on the collection of this information, so we will await further guidance before speculating on any issues with federal funding."
Spence did add that his decision is "neither political nor ideological."