A New Hampshire federal judge formally dismissed a yearlong lawsuit against the Trump administration’s “anti-DEI” directive to public schools — weeks after both sides agreed it is no longer necessary.
In an order Wednesday, Judge Landya McCafferty accepted an agreement between the National Education Association and American Civil Liberties Union and the U.S. Department of Justice. That agreement, filed with the court Feb. 3, declared the battle over the policy moot.
The lawsuit targeted a February 2025 “Dear Colleague Letter” sent by the federal Department of Education to public schools across the country. The letter, sent a month after President Donald Trump took office, stated that the department would be investigating school districts with policies or contacts related to “diversity, equity and inclusion.” The letter demanded that school districts change any policies and drop any contracts that included DEI, and it said keeping those policies could violate federal civil rights law and prompt the department to withhold federal funding.
In response to the letter, the New Hampshire Department of Education, which delivers federal education funding to school districts, asked New Hampshire districts to audit their existing contracts and vendors, and report any potential violations of the new policies.
The letter drew alarm from school officials over potential losses of funding. In March 2025, a group of New Hampshire school districts as well as the state and national branches of the National Education Association, a teachers union, and the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit against the action in the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire in Concord, arguing it was an unconstitutional attempt to withhold funds.
The plaintiffs racked up early victories. In early April, the federal department agreed to delay investigation and enforcement of the policy for several weeks. Then, on April 24, McCaffery issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking any action against certain New Hampshire school districts.
“DEI as a concept is broad; one can imagine a wide range of viewpoints on what values of diversity, equity, and inclusion mean when describing a program or practice,” McCafferty wrote then. “It is no surprise that several courts — including this one — have struck down similar laws as void for vagueness.”
For the Trump administration, the legal setbacks appeared to take a toll.
A District of Columbia federal judge also blocked enforcement of the policy, ruling on a separate lawsuit brought by the American Federation of Teachers, another teachers union. On Jan. 21, the Department of Education decided not to appeal that order, instead signing a joint stipulation with plaintiffs that it would stop any enforcement attempts.
On Feb. 3, that same department came to a similar agreement with the New Hampshire plaintiffs. Among the points: “The challenged Agency Actions will not be relied on in any way by Defendants including by way of seeking to enforce its substance through (Department of Education) or (Department of Justice) civil rights enforcement procedures.”
Plaintiffs in the New Hampshire case celebrated the order Wednesday, arguing that the attempted policy would have suppressed teachers’ ability to provide nuanced lessons without fearing enforcement.
“This ruling ensures that educators can engage in scholarship and teach history, literature, and other subjects where race, gender, and the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion appear, without fear of arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement,” said Sarah Hinger, deputy director of the ACLU Racial Justice Program, in a statement. “It affirms that educators must be free to teach and that students have a right to a full and honest education that reflects the diversity of their communities and prepares them to participate in our democracy.”
In a separate lawsuit currently pending before U.S. District Court, a group of New Hampshire plaintiffs co-represented by the ACLU and NEA are suing the state of New Hampshire over a 2025 state law that bans state agencies, schools, and local governments from DEI-related programs and policies. In September, McCafferty also temporarily blocked that law.
This story was originally published by New Hampshire Bulletin and is being reprinted here under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Click here to visit NH Bulletin and view their other stories.