John Curley: Washington superintendent shouldn’t ‘tangle with the federal government’ on DEI

Washington’s K-12 schools chief is urging districts to keep their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs despite a directive from the Trump administration ordering schools to eliminate “race-based decision-making” by February 28 or risk losing federal funding. John Curley, host of “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio thinks this is the wrong tactic to take.

State Superintendent Chris Reykdal said the directive lacks legal authority and his office is exploring legal action if the federal government tries to withhold or reclaim funding.

“And I do want to remind you that even in the Dear Colleague letter that we got from the U.S. Department of Education that threatens to take away our federal money, they say right in it, that they don’t have the power of law to actually do that. They’re trying to intimidate us into that, which we will not be intimidated,” Reykdal said.

Don’t mess with the Trump administration on DEI?

On Thursday, KIRO Newsradio’s John Curley shared his thoughts on Reykdal’s defiant stance.

“I don’t know many people who are still defending DEI, but this Reykdal guy is,” Curley said. “The federal government has said, if you are in the business of promoting DEI, then you’re in trouble. So he can scream this all he wants, but you don’t want to tangle with the federal government.”

Dear Colleague letters from the federal government are issued quite often. A brief example is the letter from President Barack Obama’s administration in 2014. It highlighted that some students were being disciplined at higher rates than others and that if that continued, there would be consequences.

Schools acted, as they didn’t want to risk upsetting the federal government, especially given the funding at stake. However, it seems that the precedent is changing.

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What does Title IX have to do with this?

Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law that has had a transformative impact on education in the United States. Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or education program that receives federal funding.

The Biden administration broadened Title IX to include gender identity, making discrimination based on gender identity a violation of the law. This change sparked controversy, especially regarding sports and funding equality.

Recently, President Donald Trump issued an executive order narrowing Title IX to focus solely on sex-based discrimination, reinstating traditional male and female categories. He said this was done to maintain fairness in women’s sports.

“So Trump has basically narrowed the definition, and now you could be in violation of Title IX,” Curley said. “Yeah, then, of course, if this Reykdal guy continues with DEI, then there will be a decrease in funding and stuff like that.”

“That’s often why cities and states roll over whenever they get these Dear Colleague letters because good luck competing against the power of the federal government and keeping all that federal money,” Curley continued.

Listen to the full discussion below.

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Listen to John Curley on “The John Curley Show” weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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