By Jack Queen

(Reuters) – A U.S. teachers union on Tuesday sued to block a Trump administration policy that would withhold federal funds from schools that teach lessons about systemic racism and other so-called diversity, equity and inclusion topics.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Maryland by the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association, asked a judge to declare the policy unconstitutional and bar federal officials from enforcing the directive, which was laid out in a February 14 U.S. Department of Education memo.

The lawsuit is the latest legal challenge to executive orders by President Donald Trump seeking to end DEI programs in the federal government and the private sector.

Trump and his Republican allies assert that DEI programs are anti-merit and discriminatory against white people and men. Rights groups say they help uplift marginalized communities by addressing historic inequities.

The new lawsuit said the Education Department’s directive would hamper equal access to education and have “devastating impacts” on schools by denying students opportunities to “hone their critical thinking skills and expand their worldview.”

“This vague and clearly unconstitutional memo is a grave attack on students, our profession and knowledge itself,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement.

White House representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Trump administration faces several other lawsuits challenging a January 20 executive order revoking the government’s DEI policies and ending what it says are illegal preferences and discrimination in hiring.

In one of the cases, a federal judge in Maryland on Friday temporarily blocked the White House from implementing bans on DEI programs at federal agencies and businesses that contract with the federal government.

(Reporting by Jack Queen; Editing by David Bario and Leslie Adler)

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