Texas Schools Must Submit USDE’s Anti-DEI Form to TEA by April 23

Texas public school systems have until Wednesday, April 23, to sign, scan — and upload to the TEA — the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) anti-DEI (diversity/equity/inclusion) certification form to avoid potentially losing their federal Title I funding.

That’s what the TEA says in a communication to districts posted on Thursday (April 10), which was the deadline set by U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon for the states to notify their schools about the requirement.

Districts and states failing to return the signed certification attesting that they have eliminated what the USDE is calling illegal DEI programs risk losing their Title I federal education funding.

McMahon initially gave states and their schools 10 days from the April 3 date that she announced the certification requirement to submit the signed, completed form.

However, thanks to a lawsuit challenging the requirement — as reported by K-12 Dive — the deadline for submitting the certification to the USDE is (for now) pushed forward to Thursday, April 24, the day after the submission deadline set by TEA.

School officials in several states have vowed not to sign the certification.

The TEA said — in its communication to schools — that the requirement reinforces federal and state non-discrimination polices, including policies under Gov. Abbott’s Jan. 31, 2025, Executive Order No. GA-55, directing state agencies to ban DEI policies.