Attorney General Tong Secures Agreement with Trump Administration to Protect Millions in Education Funding Related to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Initiatives

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02/06/2026

Attorney General Tong Secures Agreement with Trump Administration to Protect Millions in Education Funding Related to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Initiatives

Agreement Protects Nearly $400 Million in Federal Education Assistance for Connecticut

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in securing an agreement with the Trump Administration to prevent it from withholding federal funding from state and local education agencies that refuse to abandon lawful programs and policies related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, which promotes equal access to education in K-12 classrooms across the nation.

“Another major defeat and retreat for the Trump administration and Linda McMahon. Connecticut schools have always and will always comply with federal civil rights laws. Trump and McMahon tried to force MAGA ideology on Connecticut students and teachers by illegally withholding taxpayer dollars. We stopped them, and we’re going to keep fighting and winning to protect Connecticut families,” said Attorney General Tong.

On April 3, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) informed state and local agencies that they must sign a document setting forth the Trump Administration’s new interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts — or else risk immediate and catastrophic loss of federal education funds.

Connecticut, like many other states, acknowledged that it does and will comply with federal nondiscrimination statutes, regulations, and case law, but refused to certify its compliance with the Department’s new requirements, as there is no lawful or practical way to do so given the Department’s vague, contradictory, and unsupported interpretation of Title VI.

On April 25, 2025, Attorney General Tong and a multistate coalition filed a lawsuit asserting that the Department’s attempt to terminate federal education funding based on its misinterpretation of Title VI violates the Spending Clause, the Appropriations Clause, the separation of powers, and the Administrative Procedure Act. A complementary lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, American Federation of Teachers, et al. v. United States Department of Education, obtained an important victory vacating the April 3 certification request. That decision recently became final when the parties filed an agreement dismissing the Administration’s appeal.

Today’s agreement resolves this lawsuit and secures the critical commitment from the Administration to apply the relief obtained in the American Federation of Teachers lawsuit to schools in Connecticut. It prevents the Administration from withholding any funding based on these unlawful conditions.

The U.S. Department of Education provides Connecticut with nearly $400 million in congressionally mandated financial support each year for a wide variety of needs and services related to children and education. This funding includes financial support to ensure that students from low-income families have the same access to high-quality education as their peers, provide special education services, recruit and train highly skilled and dedicated teachers, fund programming for non-native speakers to learn English, and provide support to vulnerable children in foster care and without housing. As a condition of receiving these funds, state and local education agencies provide written assurances they will comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin, and Connecticut has consistently and regularly certified its compliance with Title VI and its implementing regulations.

Joining Attorney General Tong in signing this agreement are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Twitter: @AGWilliamTong

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Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov

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