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A little over a year after Donald Trump took office for the second time and began going after what he described as “discriminatory” Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practices, including gender extremism and racial preferences in education, his administration is touting several “wins” it says are shifting the culture war on college campuses and beyond.
Over 300 colleges and universities have rooted out DEI, according to numbers in a Department of Education press release laying out various “wins” against DEI during President Trump’s second term. Other numbers the administration shared showed 45 colleges and universities have also removed DEI statements and messaging from university programs or websites, at least 15 have eliminated the use of diversity statements in hiring faculty or staff, at least 95 have either eliminated, renamed or shifted staff or faculty positions related to DEI, at least 175 have removed or restructured their current DEI offices, and over a half-dozen recently abandoned racially segregated graduation ceremonies.
Furthermore, College Board, best known for administering standardized tests like the SAT, revised criteria for their National Recognition Program, which the Department of Education says favored racial groups and awarded scholarships disproportionately to students from underrepresented ethnic groups.
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Here are five more striking DEI “wins” the Trump administration has had since the beginning of the president’s second term:
1. UPenn agreed to apologize, restore women’s records, and bar males from women’s sports and intimate facilities
After finding UPenn violated Title IX, the department announced in early July that it got the school to sign a resolution agreement requiring UPenn to restore individual women’s swimming records and titles, issue a public compliance statement, adopt biology-based definitions of “male” and “female,” and send personalized apology letters to affected female swimmers. The move stripped transgender swimmer Leah Thomas of her 2022 national title, according to UPenn’s records.
“From day one, President Trump and Secretary McMahon vowed to protect women and girls, and today’s agreement with UPenn is a historic display of that promise being fulfilled. This Administration does not just pay lip service to women’s equality: it vigorously insists on that equality being upheld,” said Riley Gaines, the former University of Kentucky swimmer who competed against Thomas. “It is my hope that today demonstrates to educational institutions that they will no longer be allowed to trample upon women’s civil rights, and renews hope in every female athlete that their country’s highest leadership will not relent until they have the dignity, safety, and fairness they deserve.”
2. Education Department found California violated federal law by helping schools hide students’ gender transitions from parents
Earlier this year, the Education Department Student Privacy Policy Office found the California Department of Education to be in “continued violation” of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law granting parents access to their child’s school records.
The announcement was followed by the U.S. Supreme Court intervening in a case this month, where they sided with parents who were challenging California law that allowed staff to hide students’ gender transitions from their parents.
“Gender dysphoria is a condition that has an important bearing on a child’s mental health, but when a child exhibits symptoms of gender dysphoria at school, California’s policies conceal that information from parents and facilitate a degree of gender transitioning during school hours,” the court’s decision read. “These policies likely violate parents’ rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children.”
Meanwhile, at least 20 university-affiliated hospitals have ended, or suspended puberty blockers, hormone therapies, gender transition surgeries, or other transgender care for minors, according to the Education Department.
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3. Trump admin found Colorado school district to have violated Title IX for allowing males in girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms, overnight accommodations, and sports
Trump’s Education Department entered into another resolution agreement with the Jefferson County Public Schools District in Colorado after it found that the district was allowing transgender students access to female bathrooms, locker rooms, overnight accommodations, and to compete in female sports.
According to the department, the district committed to rescinding or revising any policies that allowed male students to use female intimate facilities, share overnight accommodations with them, or compete in female sports. The district must also issue and prominently post a public statement committing to Title IX compliance using biology-based definitions of “male” and “female,” stating Title IX applies regardless of state law or sports governing-body rules, and explaining how students can report or file sex-discrimination complaints.
4. Education Department secures 31 agreements with colleges and universities to end partnership with nonprofit recruiting pipeline that Trump said provided racial advantages
Trump’s Department of Education secured 31 resolution agreements with universities and colleges who were partnering with The Ph.D. Project, an organization that helps hopeful doctoral students get into programs. The department’s Office of Civil Rights found the program “unlawfully limits eligibility based on the race of participants.”
“After initiating investigations several months ago into forty-five institutions of higher education for collaborating with the Ph.D. Project, OCR later determined that these institutions violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) by partnering with an organization that discriminates on the basis of race,” a February press release from the department states.
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5. NCAA updates transgender athletic participation policy to keep men out of women’s sports
In Feb. 2025, the NCAA revised its transgender participation rules to restrict the women’s category to student-athletes assigned female at birth, barring athletes assigned male at birth from competing on women’s teams, though they are still allowed to practice with women’s teams and receive related benefits. The men’s category remains open to all eligible athletes, and the change took effect immediately on Feb. 6, 2025.
“Just over a year ago, we saw men claiming victories in women’s athletics. Colleges and universities were focused more on diversity, equity, and inclusion than ensuring graduates were prepared for success in life after graduation,” a Trump administration fact sheet on “wins” during the president’s second term stated.
“Institutions required DEI statements from faculty and held segregated affinity graduation ceremonies for students. Academic standards fell, admissions were skewed to favor race over merit, and students graduated with a massive pile of debt and degrees that led to no job prospects,” the sheet continues. “Today, institutions of higher education are changing the game because President Trump is bringing back America’s Golden Age — shifting the culture and restoring our nation’s institutions to greatness.”
In the fact-sheet, the Trump administration also touted an end to “test-optional admissions” at “dozens” of colleges and universities, including several Ivy League campuses and others that it says are reinstating SAT and ACT admissions requirements.
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