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“Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,� Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement. He said many schools have flouted their legal obligations, “including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another.�

The certification asks state and school leaders to sign a “reminder of legal obligations� acknowledging their federal money is conditioned on compliance with federal civil rights laws. It also demands compliance with several pages of legal analysis written by the administration.

“The use of certain DEI practices can violate federal law,� the administration wrote in the certification, adding that it is illegal for programs to advantage one race over another.

Schools and states that use illegal DEI practices can face a loss of federal money, including grants and contracts, and can be held liable under the False Claims Act, according to the certification. It specifically threatens Title I funding, which sends billions of dollars a year to America's schools and targets low-income areas.

The department ordered state education offices to sign the certification and collect certifications from school systems.

It follows a declaring that any school policy that treats students or staff differently because of their race is illegal. It aimed to fight what the memo described as widespread discrimination in education, often against white and Asian American students.

The certification letter drew blowback from critics who said it conflicts with Trump's promise to return education to schools and states.

“Is this what the Trump administration calls local control? You can’t say you’re giving control back to states and then dictate how they run their schools," said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union.

The new memo appears to lay the groundwork for financial sanctions of the kind the Trump administration has leveraged against colleges. Columbia University recently agreed to several demands after the federal government cut $400 million amid an investigation into campus antisemitism.

The government has used similar tactics at and the .

Schools across the U.S. have been scrambling to determine what practices could run afoul of the anti-DEI orders, but the new letter does little to add clarity.

The initial February memo declared that federal law prohibits schools and colleges from “using race� in decisions related to admissions, hiring financial aid, housing, student life and more. As justification, it invoked a 2023 Supreme Court decision barring affirmative action in college admissions — a case focused on admissions practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina.

The department later clarified that some practices are allowed, including Black History Month celebrations and programs focused on certain cultures, but it said many schools have “advanced discriminatory policies and practices under the banner of ‘DEI’ initiatives.�

The American Federation of Teachers, a national teachers' union, to block the Feb. 14 memo, saying it violates the First and Fifth amendments.

The union's president called the certification requirement illegal, saying federal law prohibits the White House from telling schools and colleges what to teach, and that federal money cannot be withheld without due process.

“He's wielding a cudgel of billions in federal aid to tens of millions of children, of all races and ethnicities, to force educators to kowtow to his politics and ideology,� said Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT.

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