Trump’s DEI Ban Eliminates Millions in Funding for NC Public Schools
Empty classroom in a North Carolina public school. Recent federal funding cuts have raised concerns about the future of educational resources across the state. Source: Getty Images
North Carolina public schools lost tens of millions in federal grant funding in February and March due to the Trump Administration’s ban on programs accused of engaging in diversity, equity, and inclusion, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
The U.S. Department of Education sent a Dear Colleague Letter to public educational institutions across the United States on February 14, stating that diversity, equity, and inclusion programs throughout the US have been “smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.” The letter notifies educational institutions receiving federal funds to cease any considerations of race in their staffing and admissions practices. Any programs suspected of engaging in these practices are at risk of losing federal funding.
This policy has had ramifications on public school districts throughout North Carolina, including the discontinuation of programs addressing educational performance gaps, decreasing teacher attrition rates, and inequitable distributions of educational resources.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) announced on February 18 that the district lost three federal grants totaling $5 million in 2025 and 2026. Among the programs affected by the terminated grants is the CMS Teacher-Leader Pathway Program. A grant which provided $4.8 million in funding over the next two years was cut by the Department of Education because the program sought to attract a diverse range of highly qualified teachers to work in schools throughout Mecklenburg County. Additionally, the Department of Education has cut two grants that supported partnerships between UNC Charlotte, CMS, Gaston County Schools, and Union County Public Schools aimed toward improving teacher recruitment at schools with a high need for teachers.
Winston-Salem’s TEACH program, which helps place educators in Title I schools, also recently lost its $4.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The loss of funding has immediate financial repercussions for aspiring educators, causing 13 teachers-in-training to lose their stipends, which cover their tuition and living expenses.
“Strong educators are needed now more than ever, particularly in our Title I schools,” said Kate Allman, the executive director of Winston-Salem TEACH. This loss of funding risks worsening an existing teacher attrition crisis in Winston-Salem’s Title I schools, which have a 17% teacher turnover rate, double the state average.
Rural school districts have been particularly affected by this ban, eliminating programs focused on improving educational resources in rural areas. A $21.5 million grant that was dedicated towards strengthening the educational network between eight rural NC school districts through the Innovation Project over three years was eliminated. The grant was focused on promoting equity in student access to educational resources and opportunities, supporting a diverse educator workforce, and promoting professional development initiatives for teachers. Upon being awarded the grant in 2023, Warren County Schools Superintendent Keith Sutton said the grant would “serve educators in high-need schools who work to close the achievement gap between high and low-performing schools.”
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump vowed to end “wokeness” and “leftist indoctrination” in public education. He argued that diversity-related programs amount to indoctrination against white students. In a news release, the Department of Education said that teacher training programs that involve diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives promote what it called inappropriate concepts, such as critical race theory, social justice activism, and lessons on white privilege.
In contrast, supporters of DEI initiatives argue that the programs are necessary to ensure that teachers and curriculums meet the needs of increasingly diverse student populations, and that promoting inclusive educational practices benefits all students. It is unclear whether school districts that lost funding from impacted federal grants will have the opportunity to augment their programs to re-secure opportunities for funding. According to the NC Department of Public Instruction, increasing levels of teacher attrition and vacancy rates in NC public schools led to a significant need for targeted and differentiated new teacher support programs, which are the primary group of programs being eliminated by this ban.
On February 21, U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore granted a preliminary injunction blocking President Trump’s executive orders ending federal support for DEI programs. The Trump Administration plans to appeal the order, and the U.S. Department of Education continues to cut diversity, equity, and inclusion-related grants. Legal experts have advised federal grant recipients to review grant proposals for “references to DEI or equity programs to determine possible triggers for investigations.” The CMS Board of Education announced that it is working to continue its programs despite the budget cuts, as they await information from the Department of Education regarding the ruling’s impact on their funding.
On March 20, 2025, Trump signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the US Department of Education (DOE). However, several lawsuits against this order have been filed in federal courts by the American Federation of Teachers, the NAACP, and other educational advocacy groups. Many education leaders believe that the dismantling of the DOE would lead to a second wave of eliminated federal grants for NC public schools. In Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, leaders such as Chief Financial Officer Kelly Kluttz believe that Title I, II, and III grants may lose their funding next. These grants support initiatives that fund schools with high proportions of economically disadvantaged students, promote teacher development, and provide programming for multilingual learners. NC Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green said that, if they lose federal funding, he’ll be calling on the NC General Assembly to make up for the lost funds.
For months, the Trump administration has repeatedly ignored judicial orders. “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” Vice President JD Vance tweeted on February 9. Although Trump’s original executive order banning diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within federal programs was largely blocked, the DOE has not reversed any eliminated grants for North Carolina public schools. School districts across the state are letting go of staff and rescinding job offers, potentially worsening North Carolina’s teacher attrition crisis. With millions more in funding for programs across the state being jeopardized by the potential closing of the Department of Education, local and state legislators are facing mounting pressure to act.