On Aug. 14, 2025, the District Court of Maryland held that the United States Department of Education’s (USDOE) Dear Colleague Letter of Feb. 14, 2025 (Letter), and the accompanying certification requirement (Certification), are unlawful, and vacated these documents pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
By way of brief background, the Letter explained the USDOE’s new positions regarding federal antidiscrimination law. In a follow-up to the Letter, on April 3, 2025, the USDOE sent all state education agencies the Certification, directing them to certify their compliance with Title VI and the US Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, 600 U.S. 181 (2023).
In American Federation of Teachers v. Department of Education, the District Court concluded that the Letter and the Certification were “legislative rules” because the documents went beyond clarifying or restating the law and “effect[ed] substantive change in existing law or policy” by imposing new legal obligations on recipients of federal funds. As legislative rules, the Letter and the Certification were subject to the notice and comment procedures required by the APA, which the USDOE did not follow.
The District Court also found, among other things, that: the Letter and the Certification were arbitrary and capricious in violation of the APA because the documents sought to “alter the legal landscape and to impose new obligations” without “consider[ing] evidence and demonstrate[ing] appropriate consideration of relevant facts. The District Court also found the documents were unconstitutionally vague because “it is impossible to determine what conduct triggers the prohibition and sanctions of the Letter” and the Certification “attach[es] serious consequences to compliance with standardless terms.”
In light of all the above, the District Court vacated the Letter and the Certification in their entirety.
It is noted that, while this litigation was pending, the New Jersey Department of Education submitted a response to the Certification request on April 17, 2025, which can be found in the April 22, 2025 edition of School Board Notes.
We anticipate that the District Court’s decision will be appealed, so stay tuned to future issues of School Board Notes for further developments.
For additional information about this matter, please contact the NJSBA Legal Department at (609) 278-5279, or your board attorney for specific legal advice.
