Citizens Defending Freedom Supports Proposed Rule to Dismantle the Department of Education's Woke Equity Assistance Center Program

Citizens Defending Freedom (CDF) has submitted a formal public comment supporting a recent Department of Education proposal aimed at rescinding the regulations governing the federal Equity Assistance Center (EAC) Program. Established under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide federal assistance to school districts implementing desegregation plans, the program originally operated through regional Desegregation Assistance Centers (DACs). Over time, however, the regional centers shifted away from their original desegregation mission and came to operate as Equity Assistance Centers, increasingly promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Critical Race Theory (CRT), social-emotional learning (SEL), gender ideology, and other initiatives unrelated to the program's original statutory purpose.

In response, the Department of Education recently canceled approximately $33 million in grants supporting the Equity Assistance Center Program after determining that the program had promoted DEI, Critical Race Theory, and gender identity ideology through its regional Equity Assistance Centers. In addition, the Trump’s Administration's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget proposes eliminating approximately $7 million in remaining funding for the program.

Beyond eliminating outdated regulations, CDF believes the proposal would restore greater flexibility for the Department to provide any legitimate federal assistance still authorized under Title IV through more effective means, including the Department's recently announced partnership with the Department of Justice through an Interagency Agreement.

CDF recommends that the Department adopt the proposed rule and continue efforts to ensure federal education resources remain devoted to their original statutory purposes rather than advancing ideological programming.

What You Can Do

The Department of Education is currently accepting public comments on the proposed rule.

If you support dismantling a federally funded program that has been pushing the DEI and CRT agenda for years, consider submitting a public comment here before the close of the comment period on July 27!