Arizona schools no longer face threat of lost federal funding over DEI language

PHOENIX – The threat of $866 million in lost federal funding if Arizona schools did not comply with anti-DEI policies is no longer on the table.

In August 2025, a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Education could not cut education funding over diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The Department of Education initially appealed the ruling but moved to dismiss the case on Wednesday.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has used the looming threat over the past year to encourage schools to comply with orders to remove DEI language from websites and curriculum.

Horne said he will continue to push schools to remove DEI language regardless of whether federal funding is on the line.

“First of all, a Trump administration official said they had another way to get at [schools]. … The argument I make is that, you know, I believe in individual merit and the alternative is racial entitlements,” he said.

Why was federal education funding at risk over DEI policies?

Schools were originally pushed to sign forms saying they were following President Donald Trump’s executive order to remove DEI language in April 2025.

Since then, the Arizona State Board of Education voted to review and edit the Arizona Professional Teaching Standards and the Structured English Immersion Endorsement Course Frameworks. The potential loss of federal funding was a large factor in that vote.

Horne said that while he does not have the power to force schools to comply, he does publish a list of A-F grades schools’ DEI usage to make parents aware.

“I don’t think we would use the grade itself as a threat, but we do we do post their responses to our inquiries. So, parents can decide if they want to keep their children there. Schools don’t like people leaving their schools, obviously,” he said.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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