No ‘roll back on fairness’: Berkeley schools vow not to bow to Trump’s DEI ultimatum

Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) officials and teachers are assuring families that they will continue supporting programs that uplift marginalized students, despite an order from President Donald Trump’s administration directing schools to remove such programs by the end of February or lose federal funding. 

Parents and staff members attended Wednesday’s school board meeting — the first following the federal announcement — to speak during public comment in support of programming that incorporates principles of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). 

Director Mike Chang acknowledged the community’s concerns and said ethnic studies and DEI are a “critical foundation for the American value of fairness.” Ethnic studies, which teaches students about racism and other forms of oppression, has been a requirement at Berkeley High since 1990 and the curriculum was recently expanded to all grade levels.   

“At BUSD, we are not going to be rolling back on fairness and giving everyone a fair shake,” Chang said during the meeting. 

The U.S. Department of Education, led by Trump administration appointees, released a “dear colleague letter” on Feb. 14 directing schools to end DEI programs or risk losing federal education dollars. The letter cited “existing interpretation of federal law,” namely the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that race cannot be used in college admissions. 

The Trump administration is taking the court’s ruling further by imposing limits on a broad array of DEI programs and initiatives at public education institutions, including preschools and K-12 schools, falsely claiming that such programs stigmatize students and teach that “certain racial groups bear unique moral burdens.” The administration has also ordered schools to stop “reliance” on outside partnerships with community organizations that facilitate equity programs. 

Sophina Jones, a counselor at Berkeley Tech Academy, urged leadership at Wednesday’s meeting to continue funding Berkeley High School’s Bridge program, where youth from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds — many first-generation college students — receive assistance throughout their four years of high school. 

“Especially at this time, Black and brown students might be losing a lot of services due to the federal government, and Bridge will be able to support those students,” she said. 

Other community members expressed concerns about BUSD affinity-group graduation ceremonies, LGBTQ+ clubs, and programs for students with disabilities continuing under the Trump administration, according to email tips sent to Berkeleyside. 

Right-leaning advocacy group Parents Defending Education has compiled an online list of school districts across the country that incorporate DEI principles. Several Bay Area schools are listed, including BUSD, with links leading to their equity policies. The group, which has previously challenged race-based initiatives and the teaching of ethnic studies, is asking people to add to its list by reporting other incidents of DEI in public schools.

BUSD spokesperson Trish McDermott said the district is proud of its diversity and welcomes all students to attend its schools, programs and events. She said Berkeley’s public school community should expect business as usual.

“At this time, we don’t anticipate any changes at BUSD due to this order as we are confident all district practices are nondiscriminatory,” she said in an email statement. 

Berkeley Unified, like many schools in California, receives most of its funding from the state. Federal funds typically account for less than 5% of BUSD’s total budget, with an exception coming during the height of the pandemic when state and federal money increased to support recovery. 

During the 2022-2023 school year, federal revenue accounted for over $13 million of the district’s nearly $200 million general budget. For the 2024-2025 school year, federal revenue is 2.3%, or $5.1 million, for the interim budget, according to district documents. 

Berkeley teachers said they will continue incorporating diverse and equitable teachings into the curriculum until the district tells them not to. 

“It’s a mindset as a teacher,” Alison Kelly, an English language development coordinator at Willard Middle School, told Berkeleyside on Friday. “It’s not chasing down dollars, it’s more about making sure that everybody’s needs are met, and being aware that people are not all coming in with the same resources.”

Kelly has long partnered with the nonprofit East Bay Sanctuary Covenant to include immigrant voices in her classroom and encouraged her students to share experiences of their own. 

Last year, Kelly taught in Berkeley High’s Multilingual Program for youth whose first language isn’t English. The class, which included newcomers, went on a field trip to EBSC where they heard personal stories from people who came from all over the world to the U.S. 

Kelly said it would be difficult to imagine programs and opportunities like these rolled back at Berkeley schools.

“The federal conversation really doesn’t affect my work in the classroom,” she said. “My work is always going to be focused on students feeling empowered and embracing their history and diversity. I try to make sure they feel that confidence so that they don’t become disrupted by this discourse in the media around marginalizing and othering populations.”