The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Democracy Forward, and their allies have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education and its Trump-appointed leaders.

“A lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses the Trump administration of trying to radically rewrite well-established civil rights law when it issued a sweeping directive barring colleges and K-12 schools from considering race in virtually any way,” according to The Washington Post.

This lawsuit is a direct response to the “Dear Colleague” letter issued by an Acting Assistant Secretary at the Department of Education who was appointed by President Trump.

The Washington Post reports that “the guidance from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights was sent as a “Dear Colleague” letter to school officials throughout the country Feb. 14. It threatened to deny federal funding to any school or college that considers race in hiring, discipline policy, scholarships, prizes or any other aspect of campus life. It gave schools a two-week deadline to comply, setting off confusion and panic on campuses nationwide.”

I have written a previous essay on “Subversion of Civil Rights by Trump’s Education Dept.” This essay assesses the “Dear Colleague” letter and provides links to additional reporting on it (see link below).

As a faculty member of Northern Illinois University, I am a proud member of the NIU United Faculty Alliance, the union representing tenure-track and tenured faculty at Northern Illinois University.

The NIU United Faculty Alliance is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers and fully supports its lawsuit.

The NIU United Faculty Alliance provides this information on its affiliations:

“The Northern Illinois University United Faculty Alliance (NIU-UFA) is a chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois (UPI), Local 4100. The UPI represents seven of the 12 public universities in Illinois. As a UPI chapter, the NIU-UFA is also affiliated with the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of Teachers, the Illinois AFL-CIO, and the AFL-CIO. The Illinois Federation of Teacher’s explains the relationship among affiliated unions and the benefits of these local, state, and national connections.”

More information regarding the NIU United Faculty Alliance is available at its website.

The AFT and Democracy Forward lawsuit is available at the Democracy Forward website.

Meckler, Laura. “Teachers union files lawsuit over Trump’s crackdown on race, DEI in schools.” The Washington Post (25 February 2025).

Sandberg, Brian. “Subversion of Civil Rights by Trump’s Education Dept.” Brian Sandberg: Historical Perspectives (21 February 2025).