Critics say New York public school officials hold diversity, equity, and inclusion above all else, certainly above a proper academic education. By defying the Trump administration’s order to end DEI or lose $2 billion in federal funding, they seem to want to prove those critics right.

In a statement last week, New York public school officials refused to comply and certify that DEI was shut down. Daniel Morton-Bentley, counsel and deputy commissioner of the state’s Department of Education, argued that the Trump administration lacks legal grounds to end federal funding without an administrative process.