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District solicitor warns of evolving federal certification on 'illegal DEI' tied to Title VI; state guidance pending
Summary
The district solicitor told the board on April 8 that a recently circulated U.S. Department of Education certification asking states (and possibly districts) to disavow “illegal DEI” practices is unclear in scope and that Pennsylvania has not yet issued guidance.
The district’s solicitor updated the Saucon Valley School District board about a recently circulated Department of Education certification that asked states (and, in some drafts, local education agencies) to affirm adherence to Title VI nondiscrimination requirements and to certify they do not engage in “illegal DEI” practices.
Counsel said the DOE communication referenced recent Supreme Court cases addressing affirmative action at postsecondary institutions and gave a short response window that was later extended. He described the federal notice as unclear and said the cited court holdings are not directly applicable to ordinary K‑12 district enrollment and hiring practices, though states may be asked to collect assurances from districts to preserve federal funding flow.
The solicitor told the board that some states (for example, New York, as noted in the presentation) have already declined to sign such forms and that Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) had not issued firm guidance at the time of the meeting. He advised that the situation is a fast-moving “moving target” and that the district had no immediate action to take pending PDE guidance.
Board members asked for clarification about what “illegal DEI” might mean in practice; the solicitor said the term was not defined in the federal communication and could theoretically touch hiring, admissions to programs and curricular content, but he said he did not expect local district practices to match the affirmative‑action scenarios discussed in the court cases. He recommended monitoring PDE guidance and national developments before any district-level certification.
