The U.S. Department of Education issued new guidance Tuesday directing schools receiving federal funds to apply student discipline policies without regard to race, ending prior approaches that treated statistical disparities as potential civil rights violations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated on X that “For too long, the left’s pursuit of ‘equity’ has perversely required schools to discipline students differently, based on their race. The Trump Administration is committed to keeping classrooms safe and holding schools accountable for discrimination.”
For too long, the left’s pursuit of ‘equity’ has perversely required schools to discipline students differently, based on their race.
The Trump Administration is committed to keeping classrooms safe and holding schools accountable for discrimination. https://t.co/2zVTHw68Ko
— Secretary Linda McMahon (@EDSecMcMahon) August 18, 2026
The Department of Education’s official account posted that “Discipline policies must treat students even-handedly. Today, ED issued guidance to educational institutions to ensure fair enforcement of Title VI and keep our nation’s classrooms safe.”
Background of Prior Discipline Policies
In January 2014, the Department of Education and Department of Justice under the Obama administration issued a Dear Colleague Letter stating that facially neutral discipline policies administered evenhandedly could still violate Title VI if they produced a “disparate impact”—a disproportionate effect on students of a particular race—even without discriminatory intent.
A 2018 Federal Commission on School Safety report concluded that the 2014 guidance had encouraged some schools to reduce or avoid discipline in an effort to limit racial disparities. The commission cited reports from school leaders who said they felt pressure to keep students in school despite serious misconduct.
Specific reported outcomes included Oklahoma City principals instructing teachers not to request suspensions “unless there was blood.”
The first Trump administration rescinded the 2014 letter in 2018. In 2023, the Biden administration’s Department of Education and Department of Justice issued a resource on racial discrimination in student discipline. The document stated that racial disparities in discipline alone do not violate federal law, but said schools could examine the underlying causes of disparities as part of their civil-rights compliance efforts and could use discipline data as one tool in that analysis. The Trump administration later characterized the 2023 guidance as effectively reinstating a disparate-impact approach to discipline.
Recent Legal and Regulatory Changes
On April 23, 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14280, “Reinstating Commonsense School Discipline Policies.” It directed the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General, to issue new guidance to local and state educational agencies on school discipline and Title VI obligations not to engage in racial discrimination.
The order stated that past interpretations “effectively required schools to discriminate on the basis of race by imposing discipline based on racial characteristics, rather than on objective behavior alone,” resulting in increased classroom disorder and school violence.
On the same day, Trump signed Executive Order 14281, “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” which addressed disparate-impact liability more broadly as inconsistent with equal protection under the law.
On July 23, 2026, the Department announced its final rule, which was published July 24, rescinding disparate-impact provisions from its Title VI regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 100). The rule aligned regulations with the statute’s focus on intentional discrimination and Executive Order 14281.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said:
“A child is so much more than a number in a data set. The left’s notion of ‘equity’ should never prevent teachers from keeping their classrooms and students safe. With these changes, schools will be empowered to address classroom issues without fearing the federal government will weaponize antidiscrimination laws.”
The August 18, 2026, Guidance
The August 18 Dear Colleague Letter from the Office for Civil Rights states that neither Title VI nor the Constitution requires the use of race in student discipline. The use or consideration of race in student discipline violates Title VI and the Constitution absent truly extraordinary circumstances that satisfy strict scrutiny.
Schools must cease consideration of race throughout their disciplinary policies and practices. Race-neutral policies administered evenhandedly, without wrongful racial intent or different treatment based on race, do not violate Title VI or the Constitution, even if statistical disparities result. Students must be treated as individuals, not based on immutable characteristics.
The guidance clarifies that Title VI prohibits intentional discrimination, not unintentional disparate impact. Flexible policies allowing teacher or administrator discretion remain permissible if facially neutral and applied without regard to race.
Implications for Students, Parents, and Teachers
For students, the guidance means disciplinary decisions will be based on individual behavior rather than efforts to equalize racial outcomes in suspension or expulsion rates. Classrooms are directed to prioritize order and safety without race-based adjustments to enforcement.
For parents, the changes reinforce that schools receiving federal funds remain accountable under Title VI for intentional discrimination while removing pressure to alter discipline based solely on demographic statistics. Complaints of intentional race discrimination may still be filed with the Office for Civil Rights.
For teachers and administrators, the guidance removes the prior risk that evenhanded application of neutral rules could trigger investigations solely due to statistical disparities. Educators retain authority to enforce rules based on conduct, with the Department stating that teachers should not fear for their safety when maintaining classroom order.
The guidance applies to educational institutions and state educational agencies that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Education. It is interpretive and does not create new legal obligations beyond existing statutory and constitutional requirements.
