PHOENIX — Arizona school districts face a critical deadline Thursday as the U.S. Department of Education requires schools to sign a compliance form verifying adherence to federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) guidelines, including Title VI and the Civil Rights Act.
Failure to submit the signed certification could result in the loss of millions in federal funding. The move is part of a broader directive from the Trump administration, which is pushing to eliminate DEI-focused programs in public education.
Paradise Valley Unified School District signed the form last week, with Interim Superintendent Jason Reynolds noting that the district has always complied with Title VI.
“We have always complied with Title VI, so the board should be confident that we can sign this letter,” Reynolds said. “It is important to note that this is a bit of a moving target as we figure out what these expectations are.”
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said his office will enforce funding consequences for any district that refuses to sign the DEI certification.
“We’ve notified the schools. We will let the federal government know people refuse to sign,” Horne said. “We will also make sure that they do what they said they would do, and I’m in total philosophical agreement with that.”
Horne added that he believes DEI policies focus too heavily on race-based entitlements and not enough on individual merit.
“DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion,” he said. “In normal language, those are favorable words, but the way they’re used in the colleges and then in the school is that diversity involves stereotyping people and then they want a diversity of stereotypes, not of individuals.”
The situation has sparked debate across districts, with some administrators pushing back against the shifting expectations and expressing concern about potential funding losses and program cuts if they don’t comply.
