A federal judge on Thursday blocked Trump administration directives that threatened to cut federal funding for public schools with diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the National Education Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, which accused the Republican administration of violating teachers’ due process and First Amendment rights.

“This is exactly what we want to see,” Kate Dias, president of Connecticut Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union. “A lot of the actions by the Department of Education under the Trump administration have been intentionally vague, trying to confuse, and get compliance based off the lack of clarity.”

“Those efforts need to be questioned,” Dias said.

In February, the U.S. Education Department told schools and colleges they needed to end any practice that differentiates people based on their race. Earlier this month, the department ordered states to gather signatures from local school systems certifying compliance with civil rights laws, including the rejection of what the federal government calls “illegal DEI practices.”

Last week, Gov. Ned Lamont and Connecticut Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker said the state responded to the request and would not be submitting signatures.

The Trump administration’s directives do not carry the force of law but threaten to use civil rights enforcement to rid schools of DEI practices. Schools were warned that continuing such practices “in violation of federal law” could lead to U.S. Justice Department litigation and a termination of federal grants and contracts.

The lawsuit argued that the orders were “unconstitutionally vague,” an issue underscored in the ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty.

She said the April letter does not make clear what the department believes a DEI program entails or when it believes such programs cross the line into violating civil rights law. “The Letter does not even define what a ‘DEI program’ is,” McCafferty wrote.

The judge also said there is reason to believe the department’s actions amount to a violation of teachers’ free speech rights.

“A professor runs afoul of the 2025 Letter if she expresses the view in her teaching that structural racism exists in America, but does not do so if she denies structural racism’s existence. That is textbook viewpoint discrimination,” McCafferty wrote.

The lawsuit filed in March argues the Feb. 14 memo, formally known as a “Dear Colleague” letter, would limit academic freedom by dictating what students can be taught.

The memo said schools have promoted DEI efforts at the expense of white and Asian American students. It dramatically expands the interpretation of a 2023 Supreme Court decision barring the use of race in college admissions to all aspects of education, including, hiring, promotion, scholarships, housing, graduation ceremonies and campus life.

Steven Hernández, executive director of education advocacy group ConnCAN, said the federal guidance “fundamentally misunderstands the very purpose of good diversity, equity and inclusion policy and initiatives.”

DEI is about “understanding the value that every human being brings into a space,” he said. “When you mandate DEI initiatives that are shallow on their face — or exclude them writ large — what you’re doing is exacerbating the disconnect and closing the door on meaningful conversations and relationships.”

The memo faces another challenge from the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association, which has asked a federal court in Maryland to stop the department from enforcing it.

Both lawsuits argue that the guidance is so vague that it leaves schools and educators in limbo about what they may do, such as whether voluntary student groups for minority students are still allowed.

CEA’s Dias said she’s hoping a similar ruling in the Maryland case comes soon, “that says, ‘Listen, you cannot make vague threats. That does not work.'”

President Donald Trump’s education secretary, Linda McMahon, had warned of potential funding cuts if states did not return the form by Friday.

In a Tuesday interview on the Fox Business Network, McMahon said states that refuse to sign could “risk some defunding in their districts.” The purpose of the form is “to make sure there’s no discrimination that’s happening in any of the schools,” she said.

The April directive asked states to collect the certification form from local school districts and also sign it on behalf of the state, giving assurance that schools are in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Schools and states are already required to give assurances to that effect in separate paperwork, but the new form adds language on DEI, warning that using diversity programs to discriminate can bring funding cuts, fines and other penalties.

The form threatens schools’ access to Title I, the largest source of federal revenue for K-12 education and a lifeline for schools in low-income areas.