Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.
About $800 million dollars in federal funding, or roughly 10% of Colorado’s K-12 education budget this year, could be at risk related to the latest demand from the Trump administration.
The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday gave state education agencies 10 days to certify that their schools do not engage in practices that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Those that don’t, the department said, will not receive any federal funding.
At issue is Title VI, a provision of federal civil rights law that bars discrimination on the basis of race or shared ancestry. The Trump administration’s interpretation is controversial. Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement that “too many schools” use “DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another based on identity characteristics in clear violation of Title VI.”
Schools must also certify that they comply with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which banned the use of race in college admissions decisions but which the Trump administration has interpreted more broadly.
Colorado Department of Education Commissioner Susana Córdova sent a brief letter to the state’s school district superintendents Thursday that said the department is “conferring with our legal counsel” to understand the new federal requirement.
“We will let you know the next steps; please do not take any actions until we provide you with further guidance,” Córdova wrote in the letter, which the state education department provided to Chalkbeat. “We understand that you may be receiving questions about the impact of this; as soon as we have more information, we will reach out to you all.”
All federal funding appears to be at risk if states don’t comply, though the Trump administration’s letter specifically names Title I funding that supports high-poverty schools.
Colorado received about $168 million in federal Title I funding this year that it then distributed to school districts, according to the state education department.
One other Democrat-controlled state has already responded to the Trump administration’s demands. On Friday, the New York State Education Department said it will not comply.
Denver Public Schools, Colorado’s largest school district, received the most Title I funding in the state: about $35 million, according to state data. In total, Denver Public Schools expects to receive $96 million in federal funding this school year, according to district budget documents. Federal funding makes up about 6.7% of the Denver district’s budget.
Denver Public Schools has already found itself in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. In January, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights announced it was investigating DPS for converting a girls’ restroom at East High School into an all-gender restroom.
In February, Denver Public Schools sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in an effort to keep immigration enforcement away from schools. A federal judge sided with the Trump administration in March, rejecting the district’s attempt to reinstate a federal policy that treated schools as “sensitive locations” for the purposes of immigration enforcement.
Denver Public Schools is a diverse district. About three-quarters of its 90,000 students are students of color. About 38% of Denver students are English language learners, and 63% qualify for subsidized lunches, a measure of poverty. Nearly 15% are students with disabilities.
Equity is one of the Denver district’s core values, and its school board and superintendent have passed policies and created internal departments that aim to close academic gaps between white students and Black and Latino students.
Other efforts include advisory groups for families and community members, such as a Latine Education Advisory Committee and a Black Family Advisory Committee. The webpage for the Black Family Advisory Committee says, “You do not need to be Black to participate, just need to be focused on the needs of Black students and their families in DPS.”
It’s unclear whether the education department’s edict would affect such programs.
Denver Public Schools spokesperson Scott Pribble said in a statement that, “We are assessing the situation, but DPS is already in compliance with Title VI.”
“It is too early to determine the exact impacts this could have on Denver Public Schools,” Pribble said. But he noted that the $96 million in federal funding that the district expects to receive this school year “are funds that support students and teachers.”
“Without these funds, we would need to reduce services or look for other local funding sources,” he said.
Reporter Jason Gonzales contributed to this story.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
