Dec. 11 (UPI) — The Justice Department is suing the Minneapolis Public School District, alleging its provision to hire more teachers of color is a civil rights violation amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday but announced Wednesday, accuses the district of discriminating against teachers based on their race, color, sex and national origin.
“Discrimination is unacceptable in all forms, especially when it comes to hiring decisions,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
“Our public education system in Minnesota and across the country must be a bastion of merit and equal opportunity — not DEI.”
Diversity, equity and inclusion, known as DEI, is a conceptual framework that promotes fair treatment and full participation of all people. It has for years been a target of Republican lawmakers and conservative activists, who claim DEI policies amount to unlawful racial preferences or discrimination against White individuals.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has led a campaign to erase DEI from the federal government, as well as private and public institutions, bringing a number of lawsuits against state and local governments, as well as schools and universities.
The lawsuit announced Wednesday focuses on the collective bargaining agreement the district signed with a teachers union that provides underrepresented teachers preferential treatment in employment decisions.
According to the lawsuit, the agreement requires the district when reassigning teachers, to do so based on seniority unless a teacher is from an underrepresented community. The agreement also directs the district to prioritize reinstatement of teachers from underrepresented communities.
In times of layoffs, teachers from underrepresented communities are allowed to be exempt, the Justice Department argues in the lawsuit.
“While defendants claim that these provisions are to stop discrimination, they require defendants to blatantly discriminate against teachers based on their race, color, sex and national origin,” the Trump administration said in the lawsuit,
“The United States brings this action to stop Defendants from engaging in race- and sex-based discrimination and thereby violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”