Justice Dept. Spent $100M on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department spent more than $100 million during the Biden administration on diversity, equity and inclusion educational programs that emphasize social emotional learning and restorative justice, according to an advocacy group’s new report.

Nearly $20 million of the grants went to certifying consultants who “often promote divisive concepts such as critical race theory, critical gender theory and queer theory,” according to the report from Parents Defending Education.

The money was interspersed among about 900 school districts in 36 states.

The group said it hopes to “reclaim our schools from activists imposing harmful agendas” when it released its report Thursday.

The Parents Defending Education report adds to a debate headed for possible final resolution at a U.S. Supreme Court hearing scheduled for next month. 

Late last month, Congress voted to disband its House Office of Diversity and Inclusion as part of a spending bill. Republicans, who now hold a majority in Congress, said the office is a waste of time and money.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion refers to organizational programs to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented or subjected to discrimination. DEI is a successor to the affirmative action programs that started in the 1960s to promote racial equity.

It most commonly refers to training in schools and government agencies on how to avoid discriminating because of race, religion, national origin, gender, disability or sexual orientation.

One example mentioned in the report says, “Bowling Green State University received $1,853,070 to develop [a] student mental health curriculum in rural and high-poverty districts that involved ‘mindfulness meditation, yoga and knitting circles.’”

Other examples said the Minnesota Department of Education received nearly $2 million to “create safe learning environments where practices of anti-racism and anti-oppression are embedded.”

New Jersey’s Ocean County received nearly $1 million to reduce “teasing” that it described as equal to “oppression and all forms of violence.”

DEI has sharply divided public opinion as the Biden administration advocated for the programs and Donald Trump denounced them during his campaign for president.

A June 2024 Washington Post and Ipsos survey showed that 60% of Americans believe DEI is “a good thing.”

Companies like Disney, Target and Anheuser-Busch have been subjected to boycotts or protests when they cut back on their DEI training.

The companies, like some academic institutions, argue that DEI programs often are ineffective. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported in January 2024 that some colleges are closing spaces set aside for students based on their sexual identity and have stopped asking faculty and staff members for written affirmations of their commitment to diversity.

Several Republican-dominated state legislatures are considering bills against DEI efforts at state colleges and universities.

Next month, the Supreme Court is set for a hearing on the “reverse discrimination” alleged in the case of Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services.

The lawsuit in the case was filed by a woman who was passed over for two promotions at a youth services agency in favor gay employees. She argues that she was subjected to discrimination because of her heterosexual orientation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Title VII prohibits the kind of discrimination at the heart of DEI programs. The Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that it also bans discrimination based on sexual orientation.

On June 29, 2023, the court struck down affirmative action in college admissions. A ruling that further prohibits the “reverse discrimination” claimed in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services could also end most DEI programs, according to constitutional law experts.

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