Charlottesville City and Albemarle County Public Schools remain committed to their current curriculum, despite federal pressure to end diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Opposition to DEI has emerged as a cornerstone of conservative policymaking, and has been frequently used as a justification for sweeping change by the Trump administration. Courts are weighing the legality of several executive orders issued by President Donald Trump, including “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.”
In a January 29 executive order, Trump said he would “cut federal funding for any school pushing Critical Race Theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”
A White House fact sheet issued the same day accused Albemarle County Public Schools of teaching critical race theory, which the administration labels an “inherently racist policy that teaches students are to be judged by their racial or ethnic background, rather than as an individual.”
As part of its effort to crack down on DEI in schools, the Department of Education launched an official portal (enddei.ed.gov) for reporting curriculum and practices on February 27. According to the department’s webpage, the portal can be used by anyone to flag “illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning,” and aims to keep schools “free of divisive ideologies and indoctrination.”
Despite the call-out by the Trump administration, ACPS stands behind its existing policies. In February’s Connections newsletter, Superintendent Matthew Haas reaffirmed his commitment to students and families.
“Our schools have always been and will continue to be safe and welcoming places for all who enter our facilities,” Haas wrote. “We are committed to upholding our values of equity, excellence, family and community, and wellness. … Working together as a team, we will end the predictive value of race, class, gender, and special capacities for our children’s success through high-quality teaching and learning for all. We seek to build relationships with families and communities to ensure that every student succeeds.”
CCS similarly said, “Charlottesville City Schools will continue to ensure that all our students receive what they need to develop their full academic and social potential,” in an email. “Our families are accustomed to—and can continue to count on—a curriculum that stimulates and supports all students.”
Both districts have school board elections on the ballot this November, with the CCS race gaining momentum. Diversity, equity, and inclusion programming is likely to be a focus for candidates, especially given the impact cuts to federal funding could have. Four candidates are currently running for the three open seats, with long-time local activist Zyahna Bryant the latest to announce her candidacy.
At her March 1 campaign launch, Bryant spoke about the importance of CCS upholding its commitment to DEI amid federal fearmongering.
“Inclusivity is important, and people may think that that is a hot topic thing, but I would ask you, when is it okay to exclude people who need to be in certain spaces?” Bryant said. “It’s important for us to be bold as a district and to continue to hold true our values of wanting to be inclusive and wanting to make sure that all students feel like they have a safe place to learn.”
While diversity, equity, and inclusion are long-held priorities for Bryant, she acknowledged the potential difficulty and importance of maintaining a bold commitment to DEI.
“I think that it’s important that the people who are making the decisions look like the community, and I hope that the community feels like their voices are being heard by the board,” said Bryant. “I feel like as a young person, as a young Black woman, I have the opportunity to engage with folks who are often left out, who are often pushed to the corners and to the margins, and I hope to bring their voices to the center.”
CCS and ACPS could face potential federal funding cuts if Trump follows through on his promise to stop funding schools that continue DEI programming. Federal funds represent a small percentage of both districts’ draft funding requests for FY26, but are still significant sums of money. For FY25, ACPS and CCS received $618,000 and $8,069,946 from federal funds, respectively.
Both school districts are still in the process of finalizing their draft budget requests, but they have each reduced anticipated federal funding estimates compared to previous years.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or next week in D.C., but what we do know is that we have educators who care, we have a community who cares, and we have students who need to learn,” said Zyahna Bryant at her March 1 campaign kickoff. Photo by Eze Amos.
