The U.S. Department of Education is asking the public to report practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion in public schools, the Trump administration鈥檚 latest move to go after schools for what it calls 鈥渄ivisive ideologies鈥� and 鈥渋ndoctrination.鈥�
The agency on Thursday launched a public portal鈥斺�攆or parents, students, teachers, and the broader community to report practices of discrimination based on race or sex in publicly-funded K-12 schools.
This new effort comes just before the Feb. 28 deadline that the Trump administration set for K-12 schools and universities to end DEI practices or risk losing federal funding.
The portal , titled 鈥淪tudents should be focused on learning,鈥� states that the Education Department is committed to providing students with 鈥渕eaningful learning, free of divisive ideologies and indoctrination.鈥� The form allows people to report 鈥渋llegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning.鈥� The message on the portal says the department will use submissions to 鈥渋dentify potential areas for investigation.鈥�
A co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a conservative parents-rights group that supports efforts to rid public schools of teaching about race, gender, and LGBTQ+ issues, said the portal was a necessary tool for the public and parents.
鈥淭he portal empowers parents to be able to take action when they see destructive DEI or critical race theory happening in the classroom,鈥� said Tina Descovich, a co-founder and executive director of Moms for Liberty. 鈥淧resident Trump signed an executive order, but parents are coming to us saying, 鈥極ur school districts are not listening.鈥� This [portal] gives them a tool to document where this is still happening.鈥�
Another national parents鈥� organization鈥攖he National Parents Union鈥攕lammed the portal as a 鈥渨eapon to attack and cause chaos鈥� .
Teacher groups and supporters of DEI already have been pushing back against the Trump administration鈥檚 campaign to purge public schools of DEI practices. The American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association over its Feb. 14 鈥渄ear colleague鈥� letter that gave schools and universities 14 days to end all DEI practices.
And a federal judge in Maryland recently blocked parts of Trump鈥檚 executive orders that abruptly ended spending on DEI-related contracts throughout the federal government.
States have set up similar systems for reporting DEI and critical race theory
The federal portal isn鈥檛 a new strategy to monitor DEI practices. In 2021 and 2022, states such as and announced similar tip lines to report the use of critical race theory in classrooms. There were reports of .
But Descovich says the federal portal will be helpful.
鈥淭here are plenty of instances where [DEI practices] are happening, credible places,鈥� she said. 鈥淗opefully, the line can be shut down eventually but right now I think it鈥檚 important for it to be available.鈥�
Individuals who submit the form are asked to provide an email address, the name of the school or school district, ZIP code, incident details, and an option to upload files.
