Loudoun County Public Schools is including funding for the school system’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility programs in its budget, despite pushback from two board members who think doing so could make them vulnerable to losing federal funding.
Before adopting the fiscal 2026 budget, Board member Deana Griffiths proposed reallocating funding for the DEIA programming to pay for special education teachers and band and theater group trips.
The idea came in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the federal government. As part of a separate directive last week, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) also temporarily paused agency grant and loan programs to make sure they didn’t violate the DEI executive order.
“We should follow through with reducing DEI department and taking that money and putting it toward much needed teachers for special education,” Griffiths said. “I have had several booster groups, sports teams, theaters, bands, asking for supplemental money for trips that could be out of state or out of the country.”
Griffiths said the proposal would reduce the budget by over $2.8 million, which would help them be able to fund 23 special education teachers.
However, several other board members criticized the concept.
Board member Linda Deans said research shows schools with DEI programs report higher student achievement and improved graduation rates.
“I refuse to hear any type of defunding, dismantling or taking away from DEIA,” Board member Sumera Rashid added. “Especially coming from a brown woman, myself, I find that diversity, all of what it stands for, is imminent to a child’s education.”
But, Board member Kari LaBell said the Trump administration has threatened to withhold funding from states that support DEI efforts. Failing to make changes, she said, could result in a loss of about $48 million in federal funding.
The school district’s DEIA efforts, Superintendent Aaron Spence said, make sure the “curriculum is inclusive, that our policies are nondiscriminatory, and that our teaching is culturally responsive, as required by the state board of education.”
The executive order regarding DEI only applies to practices that violate the law, Spence said, adding that the school division is “unaware of any policies and practices that violate applicable civil rights laws, particularly in a manner that would be discriminatory to any individual.”
Most education funding, Spence said, are allocated through a statue by Congress, and “cannot be unilaterally rescinded by executive order.” Any changes to funding, he said, “would require legislative actions, which would make an immediate response unnecessary.”
“Eliminating the division of DEI is not going to erase the challenges our students and staff face, and instead, I sincerely believe it would hinder our ability to provide a high quality and equitable education for all,” Spence said.
The proposal to defund the DEIA programs failed, 2-7, with Griffiths and LaBell supporting it.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the board voted to approve the $1.96 billion budget, which includes money to expand the International Baccalaureate (IB) program and fund five full-time employees to help students with behavioral issues.
Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors will now consider the school district’s budget.
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