Trump Administration Reverses Civil Rights Policy, Targets Black Student Programs

The Trump administration is fundamentally shifting the federal government's approach to civil rights in education, moving away from addressing historic discrimination against Black students and instead targeting programs aimed at remedying inequities as discriminatory against white students. This marks a complete inversion of legal history, according to civil rights attorneys.

The Education Department, under the Trump administration, has opened investigations into programs designed to increase teacher diversity in Rhode Island and Iowa, and has withheld over $20 million from Chicago Public Schools for refusing to end its Black Student Success Program. In Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Unified School District's Black Student Achievement Plan (BSAP), created after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, is under investigation by the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights following a complaint from the conservative group Defending Education.

The BSAP provides extra teachers, counselors, and Black history curriculum to schools. Initially, schools were selected partly based on the number of Black students enrolled, but after a 2023 complaint, the district changed criteria to focus on metrics like high absenteeism and low test scores, opening the program to all students.

Despite these changes, Defending Education refiled its complaint this year after district leaders were recorded saying the program had not materially changed. The Education Department subsequently launched an investigation.

Makeda Walker-Deen, a junior at Dorsey High School, said the program has been crucial for her, providing college preparation guidance and mental health support. "I think that the things a lot of critics are saying are so unreasonable," she said.

"They're saying that a program that's meant to help Black students, other students of color, is discriminatory. We've been discriminated against in school systems basically our entire lives."

The Justice Department has also targeted a separate Los Angeles program, the PHBAO designation, which provides smaller class sizes and additional resources to schools where 70% of students are students of color. The Justice Department filed a complaint in January, describing the program as unconstitutional discrimination against white students.

This follows the administration's release of school districts from court-ordered desegregation plans dating back to the Civil Rights Movement.

Critics argue that these actions undermine efforts to close achievement gaps. "Where is the uproar about the failings of the public education system for Black children?" said Christian Flagg, director of youth organizing at Community Coalition.

"We have had this student group at the bottom for so long, these massive gaps for so long. But when we do something to try to address it, there's a problem."

The Education Department defended its actions, stating that programs receiving federal funding must follow the law, which prohibits discrimination based on race. "Serving student needs and following the law are not irreconcilable mandates," said Amelia Joy, a department spokesperson.

However, advocates worry that the administration's broad interpretation of the Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling, which the administration has applied beyond college admissions, will lead schools to preemptively end equity programs to avoid federal scrutiny.