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The Philadelphia school district is at risk of losing a tenth of its overall budget due to a Trump administration threat to strip federal funding from states that don’t publicly pledge that they’ve eliminated diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
U.S. Department of Education officials directed state education commissioners on Thursday to certify within the next 10 days that they have eliminated DEI programs, which the administration considers illegal under civil rights law. Failure to comply would lead to a loss of federal funding, the directive said, specifically Title I money designated for high-poverty districts.
Such cuts could have major implications for the already cash-strapped district. Federal education aid accounts for about 10% of the district’s budget of more than $4.5 billion. Philadelphia received over $193 million in federal Title I formula aid in 2024-25 and another $43 million in Title I grants specifically for school improvement, according to district budget documents.
At a Friday event memorializing Martin Luther King Jr. on the calendar day when he was assassinated, speakers took the opportunity to denounce the Trump administration’s attempts to eliminate the Department of Education and threats to withhold funding from school districts.
“When public education is weakened, it is students, especially in cities like ours, who suffer the most,” Martin Luther King High School student Aniyah Daniels said at a press conference at her school on Friday.
So far, Pennsylvania education officials have not commented on the order. A spokesperson for the Philadelphia School District said district officials are still reviewing the order but had no further comment as of Friday.
The latest attack on DEI from the federal government stems from the Trump administration’s controversial interpretation of both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. Experts are questioning the legality of this latest move. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in late January about withholding federal money from schools that teach “discriminatory equity ideology” — a reference to DEI.
According to the Philadelphia school district’s website, its office of diversity, equity, and inclusion “serves as the bedrock for the School District’s commitment to anti-racism.” And the district’s commitment to equity is interwoven throughout Superintendent Tony Watlington’s five-year strategic plan for the district.
The Education Department’s Thursday directive lacked specifics, leaving educators to question what might be included in the administration’s broad definition of DEI.
Philly’s African American history course mandate, in addition to policies aimed at diversifying the selective admissions process and charter schools focused on Black students, could be among the programs threatened by the Trump administration’s attacks on DEI initiatives.
Democratic state Sen. Vincent Hughes told Chalkbeat the threat to Title I funds over DEI was “asinine” and said it was an admission that the federal government does not want students to be taught “American history.”
“I would hope that Pennsylvania would not sign,” Hughes said, adding, “It needs to be fought, we’ll go to court and hopefully we’ll prevail in court”
U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Democrat representing Montgomery and Berks counties, said Trump and his allies are targeting schools because they “want an uneducated electorate.”
“It’s Orwellian, frankly,” Dean said at Friday’s press conference. “I’m here to say I will not sit down and be silent while this is going on.”
Martin Luther King High School Principal Keisha Wilkins said her students would be hurt by eradicating DEI, specifically if district schools ceased to teach African American history.
“Knowing our history helps us to not repeat it,” Wilkins said. “I’m fearful that the programs we’ve put into place will not be here anymore”
Standing alongside lawmakers, public education advocates, and city representatives, Wilkins also struck a defiant tone. “I am scared but I also know my children are resilient,” she said, adding, “we have power in numbers.”
Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.
