Red state school district slapped with complaint to Trump admin alleging unlawful DEI practices

FIRST ON FOX: A pro-Trump legal nonprofit is asking for the U.S. Department of Education to investigate an Ohio school district that the group says is pushing an "unlawful" DEI agenda and violating federal anti-discrimination law. 

The complaint from America First Legal alleges that the Upper Arlington School District in Columbus, Ohio has implemented DEI policies dating back to 2020 and cites material from the district’s own website. 

"In June 2020, during the height of the Black Lives Matter riots, the Upper Arlington School Board, like many other educational institutions and corporations in our country, caved to Black Lives Matter demands and began to implement racist and discriminatory DEI policies in the District," the complaint alleges. 

"The District added a Chief Talent Officer ("CTO") to "foster workforce diversity. Upper Arlington also added an Equity Advisory Board, which aims to ‘provide invaluable insight and feedback on the recruitment of a diverse staff.’ The School District also created a new position, the Chief Excellence and Engagement Officer, who was tasked with ‘spearhead[ing] Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts.’"

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The complaint alleges that DEI advocacy continued in the years after 2020 and quoted a district report that said "[t]here is a need for a clear vision for DEI initiatives [and] advocacy for LGBTQIA+ students" while referring "those who oppos[e] DEI efforts" as "negative voices."

A "Comprehensive Equity Report" from the district "contains "discriminatory and illegal recommendations", according to the complaint. 

The complaint makes the case that the DEI practices within the district are not in line with current Education Department rules and guidelines and suggests that federal funding to the school could be in jeopardy.

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"When our nation’s schools discriminate based on race and sex, and embed divisive racial and sexual ideologies into their curriculum, it not only violates the law, but it also warps our children’s education," Jacob Meckler, America First Legal Counsel, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "The Department of Education should investigate the Upper Arlington School District and, if appropriate, terminate federal taxpayer funding."

Fox News Digital reached out to the school district and Department of Education for comment. 

Upper Arlington School District has been in hot water over DEI practices in the past when  video surfaced in 2023 showing district officials discussing how they can push critical race theory covertly, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

"There's more than one way to skin a cat," Matthew Boaz, the executive director of diversity, equity and inclusion of Upper Arlington Schools, said. "You can pass a bill that you can't teach CRT in a classroom, but if you didn't cover programming, or you didn't cover extracurricular activities or something like that, that message might still get out. Oops."

In a statement to Fox News Digital Superintendent Hunt said, "On April 30, Upper Arlington Schools received a copy of a letter sent to the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights by an attorney writing on behalf of the advocacy group America First Legal.  The letter accuses the district of ‘illegal DEI policies,’ but fails to identify any specific practices or policies that are actually in place in the district."

"We take any concerns of discrimination seriously and we will continue, as always, in our commitment to our mission of challenging and supporting every student, every step of the way, to our vision that every student is prepared to serve, lead, and succeed, and to our values - start with heart, strength in team, and contagious drive.  Our new Excellence & Innovation 2030 Strategic Plan is rooted in these commitments, and we will remain focused on providing our students with the high quality educational experience that our community expects."

Hunt added that "we will certainly cooperate fully" if an investigation is opened.

A Dept. of Education spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the department "doesn't confirm complaints."

Earlier this year, the Department of Education issued a letter warning public schools across the country that they must remove diversity, equity and inclusion policies or risk losing federal funding. 

"Institutions that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding," Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights in the Department of Education, said in the letter.

The letter said the "overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this Nation's educational institutions" will no longer be tolerated.

Fox News Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this report