Federal Resources
Federal Policy Resources
As changes from Washington, D.C. are announced with uncertain and potentially damaging impacts for our public schools, students, and communities, it can be hard to find reliable and comprehensive information. This page serves as a clearinghouse of information that educators may find useful to navigate the implications of major federal policy changes. Be sure to visit the National Education Association’s website and Education Justice pages for the latest information. To help members understand the legality and impact of the actions of the Trump Administration, NEA’s Office of the General Counsel created a webpage that answers the question “Is This Legal?” The page will be updated as new issues arise.
Immigration Resources
Immigration issues may seem complicated, but some things are simple. We must uphold the Constitutional right of all children in the United States to receive a K-12 education, regardless of their immigration status. For guidance from NEA on immigration issues, educator rights regarding immigration enforcement, safe zone policies, and more, click here.
LGBTQ+ Resources
Our LGBTQ+ students need us to ensure our schools are places where all students are protected and empowered. For NEA trainings, resource guides, summaries of your rights and protections, and more, click here.
Racial and Social Justice
Racial and social justice are education justice. Every child, regardless of their zip code or background, deserves equitable access to opportunities, resources, and supports. For racial and social justice resources and guidance from NEA, click here. For MSEA’s racial-social justice strategy, organizing, and action resource pages, click here.
Legal Resources
Looking for legal guidance? NEA’s legal and employment guidance resource library is here; you can also find legal resources on specific issue areas from MSEA here. Make sure to reach out to your local association and UniServ director for advice regarding any specific situations that you may be facing.
Detailing the Impact of Cuts to USDE
Deep cuts to the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is bad policy and hurts kids. While it might sound like a distant bureaucracy, the people and programs that the department supports are in every one of our communities. About 11% of funding for Maryland public schools flows through USDE. USDE provides funding that helps students in poverty, students receiving special education services, and students attending college. Its mission is also to defend civil rights in our schools.
Click here to learn more about the impact and funding that USDE and its programs have in Maryland.
Summary from MSEA General Counsel Kristy Anderson of the April 24 Court Order Regarding the NEA, NEA-NH, et. al. v. Department of Education, et. al.Suit to Pause the Effects of “Dear Colleague” Letter issued by Depart of Ed
The District Court of New Hampshire issued a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of Education’s February 14th Dear Colleague Letter, which threatened school districts and colleges and universities with the loss of federal funding if they continued to pursue “impermissible DEI” activities, which the Letter itself did not define. The decision further enjoined the END DEI Portal as well as the April 3rd certification demand of the Department.
The court determined that Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the February 14 Letter is impermissibly vague. Specifically, the Letter proclaims that DEI programs violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and that it will “vigorously enforce” that interpretation, but it failed to make clear “what the Department believes constitutes a DEI program or the circumstances in which the Department believes DEI programs run afoul of Title VI”. Id. at 46. In short, Judge McCafferty stated that the Letter did not even define what constitutes a DEI program but sought complaints about program and teaching practices via the portal to end DEI.
In its complaint, NEA further asserted that the Letter was a violation of the First Amendment and a violation of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). The court agreed on both counts that NEA was likely to succeed on the merits of their claims. In terms of the First Amendment, the court found that the Letter “targets speech based on viewpoint,” specifically the viewpoint that structural racism exists in America. Id. at 61. And because higher education faculty have First Amendment protection in what they teach, the court concluded that Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the claim that the Letter violated the First Amendment rights of NEA’s higher education members. As to the APA, the court determined that the Letter was issued in violation of the constitution and in excess of the Department’s statutory authority and law which restricts the Department’s authority to intrude on state and local decisions about curriculum and educational programming. Id. at 68-69.
The injunction enjoins enforcement and implementation of the February 14 Letter, the End DEI Portal, and the April 3 certification requirement against the plaintiff, their members, and any entity that employs, contracts with, or works with one or more plaintiffs or one or more of plaintiffs’ members. Id. at 81. This means that the requirements may not be enforced in any school district or college or university in which a single member of NEA is employed.
We are aware that MSDE developed a Maryland-specific attestation as part of an effort to comply with the certification requirement. Neither MSDE nor any Maryland LEA was signing the USDE version. MSDE submitted the Maryland version to USDE yesterday, moments before the court ruling.
While this marks a significant development, the Trump Administration will not be silenced. On Wednesday, Trump issued executive orders targeting K-12 public schools. One of these orders directs McMahon to issue new school discipline guidance within 60 days and to review nonprofit organizations that have advocated for equity-based discipline policies—terminating their federal funding if necessary. The order mandates that disciplinary decisions be based solely on students’ behavior and actions. Framed as a return to “common sense school discipline,” this move is, in effect, a reversal of the 2014 Obama-era federal guidelines. Those guidelines encouraged schools to avoid suspensions, expulsions, or law enforcement referrals except as a last resort, and instead promoted restorative justice practices aimed at dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.
The full court order is here.