Higher education groups, including college professors and university diversity officers, are suing the Trump administration over its executive orders eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) positions in government and the president’s threats to suspend funding to institutions because of their DEI policies.
The American Association of University Professors and the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, along with other groups, argue that Trump’s orders exceed executive legal authority.
Trump’s orders on DEI mandate that the Department of Education and other agencies must recommend measures to encourage an end to what they call “illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI”.
It’s about making sure that higher education is accessible to everyone, and also making sure that we teach and emphasize issues that have been, in many ways, hidden in the past”.
They also allege that the orders violate both the first and fifth amendments and threaten academic freedom and access to higher education for everyone.
