Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steve Cook joined nine other superintendents to support the state’s declaration that its education department is in compliance with federal law and will not end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The April 3 order from the U.S. Department of Education required certification from state education officials that they were in compliance with Title VI and the 2023 Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard decision in order to continue receiving federal financial assistance. State officials were responsible for collecting certification from local education officials.

“The April 3 letter attempted to use nearly $1.5 billion dollars of federal funding for Oregon’s students as leverage for compliance with new federal requirements. This demand was a test of Oregon’s commitment to our values and our expectations for a good government. Your response modeled the leadership we need and made us proud to be public education leaders in Oregon,” said the letter, signed by Cook and superintendents from the Portland, Beaverton, Salem-Keizer, Medford, Eugene, North Clackamas, Gresham Barlow, Hillsboro and Tigard-Tualatin school districts. Krista Parent, executive director of the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators, also signed.

Charlene Williams, Oregon Department of Education superintendent, responded on the state’s behalf to the federal department’s order for districts to certify that they were in line with the Trump administration’s reinterpretation of Title VI. She wrote that Oregon was compliant and that the state was certified in both 2023 and 2024.

“Oregon remains fiercely committed to its values of diversity, equity and inclusion, and we celebrate our differences and common humanity,” Williams wrote in her letter for the federal department. “Our moral and ethical obligation is to stand up for public education. We want to assure Oregonians that their children can learn and thrive in safe, welcoming, and supportive environments.” 

The superintendents called the state response “decisive, courageous, and clarifying.”

Williams wrote, “Threats to this federal funding without lawful authority or established requirements put key programs at risk that students and schools across Oregon depend on every day. There is no circumstance where it is okay to leverage children’s resources as a political tool.”

Williams also noted that the department cannot implement a new rule without adhering to rulemaking procedures such as a comment period. It is also unclear which programs will be affected by the order, she wrote.