The Biden administration’s Department of Education is taking a victory lap for its generous spending spree on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in schools. According to a new report from Parents Defending Education, over $1 billion in DEI grants have been handed out nationwide since 2021. Oh, and this is not just a problem in blue states—surprise, surprise! It’s happening in 25 red states that voted for Trump in 2024.
Oklahoma’s State Superintendent, Ryan Walters, isn’t pulling any punches. He’s blasting the Biden administration for wasting taxpayer money to cram DEI initiatives into Oklahoma schools. And guess what? Oklahoma isn’t the only red state on the receiving end of this federally funded experiment. Schools in Iowa, Missouri, and South Carolina have raked in a combined $89.4 million in grants, all earmarked for weaving progressive ideologies into K-12 classrooms because nothing says “educational priorities” like a federally subsidized lecture on how to think.
Let’s take a look at the mess this money is funding. The University of Iowa, located in a red state, received a $1.26 million grant to train 40 elementary school teachers on “equity-centered education.” Translation: let’s lower academic standards, water down discipline, and create race-based groups for students and teachers based on skin color. So much for “merit-based” anything.
In Missouri, the University of Missouri-St. Louis received $306,209 to train school counselors in “Trauma-Informed, Antiracist Social-Emotional Learning.” Sounds nice, right? Until you remember that Ibram X. Kendi, the self-proclaimed king of antiracism, said that “the only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination.” How’s that supposed to help anyone?
And then there’s South Carolina, where Laurens County School District 55 was awarded a whopping $13.6 million to “embed” equity, diversity, and inclusion into the school culture. Keep in mind that Laurens County went nearly 70% for Trump in 2024. So, yeah, that’s going over really well with the locals.
Parents can’t afford to sit back and pretend it’s only a problem in other states. DEI funding has found its way into classrooms everywhere, and it’s time to fight back. Keep an eye on what’s being taught, attend school board meetings, and don’t be afraid to push back on this waste of taxpayer money. It’s not helping students; it’s hurting them.
