U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, as he and Apple CEO Tim Cook

On Thursday, a U.S. District Court judge in Maryland invalidated two sweeping guidelines from President Donald Trump's administration that attempted to overhaul civil rights law and suppress diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in public classrooms.

In memos issued by the Department of Education in mid‑February and early April, the administration had warned that schools could face the withdrawal of federal support unless they eliminated race‑based instruction, dismantled programs aiding specific communities, and submitted certifications affirming adherence to the administration’s reinterpretation of federal civil‑rights statutes.

Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher, appointed to the bench by Trump during his first term, ruled these directives unlawful, in breach of constitutional protections and officially unenforceable. She then permanently blocked their implementation, according to a report by Democracy Docket.

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Gallagher determined that the rules’ lack of precision effectively deprived schools of due process. According to the judge, they were so broadly worded that educators had no clear guidance on what conduct was forbidden, thereby undermining constitutional safeguards.

She wrote that the two documents, taken together, “create a regime that chills a substantial amount of protected speech and is impermissibly vague.”

Educators, she warned, could reasonably fear that discussing systemic racism during faculty sessions or supporting voluntary student affinity groups might jeopardize their funding.

The court’s injunction explicitly bars the Department of Education from “implementing, enforcing, or giving effect” to the Trump-era directives in any form.

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The case was brought by the American Federation of Teachers, the American Sociological Association and Oregon’s Eugene School District 4J, which challenged what they described as a weaponization of civil‑rights law to target schools, teachers, and students, per the report.