Under Trump administration, efforts to address deep-rooted inequities for students of color are being cast as discriminatory against white students. Civil rights lawyers describe the Republican administration’s actions as an inversion of legal history. The federal government long enforced civil rights laws with an eye toward remedying historic, systemic discrimination against Black people and other people of color. Programs that withstood legal scrutiny are now quick to be deemed “illegal” examples of diversity, equity and inclusion by the White House. Schools that fail to comply have faced threats to their funding and in some cases have lost federal grants.

President Donald Trump’s order calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Education Department has complex implications. The Republican president has argued the federal office hasn’t improved student outcomes and is unnecessary in a country where states and local districts primarily control education from funding to hiring and curriculum. In the short term, students, teachers and parents likely won’t see much impact. Long term, it’s harder to predict. It depends how Education Secretary Linda McMahon distributes the mandated functions of the department to other parts of government, including the states.