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It's not often people witness public school officials publicly clashing with the Department of Education, but that's exactly what has been happing. This face-off isn't over school officials attempting to do something that might harm students. Some school officials feel that the steps recently taken by the Department of Education are harmful overall and one district superintendent penned a powerful letter.

Recently the Department of Education, now being headed by Linda McMahon sent out a mass memo to public schools across the United States giving them just 10 days to rid their schools of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives (DEI). Some states immediately while others pushed back on the directive. The consequence for schools not complying with the demand is the loss of federal funding, which could devastate some public schools who heavily rely on federal funding to fill in the gaps where state funding falls short.

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In the instance of the school boards that refused to comply, most were very brief in their dissent, but for this district superintendent, they laid out exactly how ridding the schools of DEI would harm their students. The letter was shared by Clair Hochstetler on Facebook where it has been shared 154k times. Hochstetler did not pen the powerful letter, she shared it anonymously in an effort to protect the identity of the state superintendent who sent it off to the Department of Education.

The anonymously shared letter lays out all the ways diversity, equity and inclusion are used in schools evoking strong emotions from readers.

person using pencil Photo by Ben Mullins on Unsplash

Read the letter in it's entirety below:

"Still Not Signing: A Superintendent's Response to the Department of Education's Anti-DEI UltimatumThe federal government gave us ten days to sign away our values. Here’s our answer.

April 8, 2025

To Whom It May (Unfortunately) Concern at the U.S. Department of Education:

Thank you for your April 3 memorandum, which I read several times — not because it was legally persuasive, but because I kept checking to see if it was satire. Alas, it appears you are serious.

You’ve asked me, as superintendent of a public school district, to sign a "certification" declaring that we are not violating federal civil rights law — by, apparently, acknowledging that civil rights issues still exist. You cite Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, then proceed to argue that offering targeted support to historically marginalized students is somehow discriminatory.

That’s not just legally incoherent — it’s a philosophical Möbius strip of bad faith.

Let me see if I understand your logic:

If we acknowledge racial disparities, that’s racism.If we help English learners catch up, that’s favoritism.If we give a disabled child a reading aide, we’re denying someone else the chance to struggle equally.

And if we train teachers to understand bias, we’re indoctrinating them — but if we train them to ignore it, we’re “restoring neutrality”? How convenient that your sudden concern for “equal treatment” seems to apply only when it’s used to silence conversations about race, identity, or inequality.

Let’s talk about our English learners. Would you like us to stop offering translation services during parent-teacher conferences? Should we cancel bilingual support staff to avoid the appearance of “special treatment”? Or would you prefer we just teach all content in English and hope for the best, since acknowledging linguistic barriers now counts as discrimination?

And while we’re at it — what’s your official stance on IEPs? Because last I checked, individualized education plans intentionally give students with disabilities extra support. Should we start removing accommodations to avoid offending the able-bodied majority? Maybe cancel occupational therapy altogether so no one feels left out?

If a student with a learning disability receives extended time on a test, should we now give everyone extended time, even if they don’t need it? Just to keep the playing field sufficiently flat and unthinking?

Your letter paints equity as a threat. But equity is not the threat. It’s the antidote to decades of failure. Equity is what ensures all students have a fair shot. Equity is what makes it possible for a child with a speech impediment to present at the science fair. It’s what helps the nonverbal kindergartner use an AAC device. It’s what gets the newcomer from Ukraine the ESL support she needs without being left behind.

And let’s not skip past the most insulting part of your directive — the ten-day deadline. A national directive sent to thousands of districts with the subtlety of a ransom note, demanding signatures within a week and a half or else you’ll cut funding that supports... wait for it... low-income students, disabled students, and English learners.

Brilliant. Just brilliant. A moral victory for bullies and bureaucrats everywhere.

So no, we will not be signing your “certification.”

We are not interested in joining your theater of compliance.

We are not interested in gutting equity programs that serve actual children in exchange for your political approval.

We are not interested in abandoning our legal, ethical, and educational responsibilities to satisfy your fear of facts.

We are interested in teaching the truth.

We are interested in honoring our students’ identities.

We are interested in building a school system where no child is invisible, and no teacher is punished for caring too much.

And yes — we are prepared to fight this. In the courts. In the press. In the community. In Congress, if need be.Because this district will not be remembered as the one that folded under pressure.

We will be remembered as the one that stood its ground — not for politics, but for kids.

Sincerely,

District Superintendent

Still Teaching. Still Caring. Still Not Signing."

Well Done Clapping GIF by MOODMANGiphy

The letter ignited emotion and praise from readers in the comments with one person writing, "As a retired teacher, I applaud you and thank you. We need to do everything we can in our schools to help every child. Getting rid of DEI makes it impossible for many, many children to live life at its fullest."

Another says, "YESS! Now if they ALL have the guts to do this then maybe we’ll get somewhere."

Someone shares their disbelief, "Every single school district nationwide needs to copy and send this exact response! It's brilliant!I am still not convinced that we are not living in the twilight zone or the outer limits," they write in part.

"Hear Hear!!! More schools need to Resist & fight this!!!" someone else chimes in.