The latest final federal district court ruling has permanently killed Trump's elimination of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion directive following the U.S. Department of Education's announcement in mid-January that it dropped its legal appeal challenge and no longer sought to enforce the restriction of DEI at schools and higher education institutions.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
February 20, 2026
Concord, N. H. - On Wednesday, the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) reported that a final U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire ruling has ensured that Trump's directive to eliminate or restrict Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in schools and higher education institutions can longer be enforced by the U.S. Department of Education and can not be revived, according to the federal court's final ruling. (Article link: https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/department-of-education-backs-down-on-unlawful-directive-targeting-educational-equity)
The ACLU says that, in an earlier ruling in the case, District Court Judge Landya McCafferty previously found that the directive's "isolated characterizations of unlawful DEI" conflicted with the term's meaning, stating that DEI is generally understood as fostering "a group culture of equitable and inclusive treatment." The court further held that plaintiffs were likely to succeed in showing that the directive was vague, viewpoint discriminatory, and unlawfully imposed new legal obligations for educators and schools.
"This ruling ensures that educators can engage in scholarship and teach history, literature, and other subjects where race, gender, and the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion appear, without fear of arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement, said Sarah Hinger, deputy director of the ACLU Racial Justice Program. "It affirms that educators must be free to teach and that students have a right to a full and honest education that reflects the diversity of their communities and prepares them to participate in our democracy."
ACLU complaint filed on March 5, 2025 at link: https://www.aclu.org/cases/national-education-association-et-al-v-us-department-of-education-et-al?document=Complaint
The adverse affect of Trump's directive in Wisconsin allowed Dr. Anthony Cruz, the President of the Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) to eliminate the Office of Multicultural Student Services and and unjustly terminate 4 student services specialists to comply with Trump's directive without legally challenging the unlawful directive, which advertently affected the students of color from the Latino/Hispanic, African-American, Asian-American and Native-American communities.
Dr. Cruz and the Milwaukee Area Technical College Board of Trustees have failed to restore the Multicultural Student Services and rehire the 4 student specialists after they learned that Cruz erred in deciding to eliminate the Multicultural Student Services in order to comply with Trump's illegal directive.
Today, members from the communities of color in Milwaukee, Wisconsin are demanding for Dr. Cruz and the entire MATC Board of Trustees to resign for their disservice and negligence to eliminate the Multicultural Student Services at the technical college that served students from the communities of color for 50 years. (Facebook post link: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1XvDmmJ88U/)
MATC has not halted its continued elimination of other DEI related services and programs at the technical college.
Ediror's note: The communities of color should ensure that every school and higher education institution continues to apply DEI initiatives to ensure every student and instructor is protected under Diversity, Equity and Inclusion directives as previously provided.
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