Schools face new battles over fairness rules

Over the past few years, America’s public schools have seen a major shift in how the federal government handles fairness and equality. For decades, civil rights laws pushed schools to correct deep-seated biases that hurt Black students and other students of color. Programs were created to close achievement gaps and ensure equal opportunities. But under the current administration, many of these efforts are now being labeled as unfair to white students. The Education Department has pulled funding from programs that aimed to recruit more teachers of color or train staff to better support Black students. Grants for mental health workers have also been canceled when they mentioned diversity in their goals. Civil rights lawyers call this a complete turnaround from the original purpose of civil rights laws. They say it ignores the real history of discrimination and harms entire school communities. In Los Angeles, the Black Student Achievement Plan was created after students protested the 2020 police killing of George Floyd. It provided extra teachers, counselors, and Black history lessons to schools with many Black students. After complaints from a conservative group called Defending Education, the district changed how it chose schools for the program. Instead of focusing only on Black enrollment, it used broader measures like low test scores or high absenteeism.The Education Department initially said the changes fixed the issue. But after the same group filed another complaint, officials launched an investigation anyway. Students like Makeda Walker-Deen at Dorsey High School say the program has helped them plan for college and manage stress. They argue that helping Black students doesn’t mean hurting others. Critics of these fairness programs say they are now working against their original goals. In Chicago, the federal government withheld $20 million from public schools because they refused to end a program specifically for Black students. The Education Department claims it’s just following the law, which bars race-based discrimination. But advocates say this ignores the fact that Black students have long faced unfair treatment in schools. Some federal actions have even gone after long-standing desegregation efforts. Courts once ordered Los Angeles schools to address racial segregation through busing and magnet programs. Now, conservative groups and the Justice Department are suing to end a program that gives extra support to schools where most students are students of color. They call it discrimination against white students. But experts who fought for desegregation say this ignores decades of promises to fund these schools fairly. Educators worry that this shift will slow progress in closing gaps for Black students. Many say the real problem isn’t programs for students of color—it’s the failure of the school system to provide equal resources all along.