On January 22, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted a joint motion to dismiss the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) appeal from a district court decision that had previously vacated DOE’s February 14, 2025 Dear Colleague Letter (the “DCL”), which targeted DEI initiatives and programming. As a result, the DCL and its certification requirements remain unenforceable.

Following President Trump’s January 21, 2025 Executive Order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (the “Order”),[1]  DOE issued the DCL, asserting that educational institutions receiving federal funds are broadly prohibited from using race in decisions related to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and other aspects of academic and campus life.[2] A few weeks later, DOE issued an announcement that it would require states and schools to affirmatively certify their compliance with DOE’s interpretations of Title VI and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (“SFFA”) within ten days. DOE also released related materials, including a Title VI Frequently Asked Questions document (the “FAQ”).[3]

On April 24, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the DCL, the certification requirements, and the related FAQ.[4] On August 14, 2025, the same court vacated the DCL and the certification requirement, concluding they were unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act and raised constitutional concerns.[5] DOE noticed an appeal on October 13, 2025, but by jointly dismissing that appeal on January 22, 2026, DOE allowed the district court’s vacatur to stand.

However, institutions must be mindful that other anti-DEI guidance remains intact. The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a July 29, 2025 memorandum titled “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination” (the “DOJ Guidance”).[6] While explicitly nonbinding, the DOJ Guidance adopts an expansive view of Titles VI, VII, and IX, emphasizing that recipients of federal funding must avoid both direct and indirect discrimination based on protected characteristics. It identifies practices it views as unlawful, such as preferences or benefits based on protected traits, the use of proxies for race or sex, and requirements for demographic representation in candidate pools. The DOJ Guidance also recommends race- and sex-neutral criteria, documentation of legitimate rationales, and careful evaluation to ensure neutral criteria are not serving as proxies. The DOJ Guidance has not been enjoined and continues to inform federal enforcement priorities, including Title VI compliance reviews and requests directed to higher education institutions.

Should you have any questions about the impact of these orders or executive actions on your institution’s policies and practices, please contact Jennifer McLaughlin (jmclaughlin@cullenllp.com), Dina Vespia (dvespia@cullenllp.com), Nicole Donatich (ndonatich@cullenllp.com), or Jordan Milite (jmilite@cullenllp.com).

This advisory provides a brief overview of the most significant changes in the law and does not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein creates an attorney-client relationship between the sender and recipient.

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Footnotes

[1] Exec. Order No. 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, Executive Order of January 21, 2025, 90 Fed. Reg. 8633, 8634-35 (Jan. 31, 2025) (available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/). 

[2] U.S. Dep’t of Educ., Office for Civil Rights, Dear Colleague Letter (Feb. 14, 2025) (available at: https://www.ed.gov/media/document/dear-colleague-letter-sffa-v-harvard-109506.pdf?bcs-agent-scanner=6e934996-dbbc-8b43-9dc7-d5a35fb73db9); see also McLaughlin, Vespia, Mitacek, and Donatich, The U.S. Department of Education Issues Dear Colleague Letter Regarding Title VI Compliance (Feb. 16, 2025) (available at: https://www.cullenllp.com/blog/the-u-s-department-of-education-issues-dear-colleague-letter-regarding-title-vi-compliance/).

[3] U.S. Dep’t of Educ., Office for Civil Rights, Title VI Frequently Asked Questions (Mar. 1, 2025) (available at: https://www.ed.gov/media/document/frequently-asked-questions-about-racial-preferences-and-stereotypes-under-title-vi-of-civil-rights-act-109530.pdf); see also McLaughlin, Vespia, Mitacek, Donatich, and Milite, OCR Issues Additional DEI Guidance (Mar. 4, 2025) (available at: https://www.cullenllp.com/blog/ocr-issues-additional-dei-guidance/).

[4] See American Federation of Teachers, et al. v. Dep’t of Ed., Case No. 25-cv-00628-SAG (D. Md. 2025).

[5] Id.

[6] U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination (July 29, 2025) (available at: https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1409486/dl?bcs-agent-scanner=0f6819cd-17cd-4942-8134- 625cf083d203).