The Nevada Department of Education (NDE) did not immediately agree to comply with the Trump administration’s demand that K-12 schools eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies by Friday, saying the state needs further clarity on what constitutes “illegal DEI.”

Every year, states must certify that their schools are in compliance with civil rights law in order to access federal education funding — and Nevada did so as recently as February. But in April, the Department of Education, under the leadership of new Education Secretary Linda McMahon, sent a memo to state education leaders across the country asking for further certification that states would comply with a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race.

The letter that states received said that DEI practices were illegal under civil rights law and asked states to recertify their civil rights compliance with that provision in mind. States received their letters on April 3 and were asked to respond by April 24.

NDE, in its response to the federal government on Wednesday, noted that between federal and state law, Nevada schools are already prohibited from discriminating based on race. But interim State Superintendent of Public Instruction Steve Canavero said in his reply that he needed further guidance on what the “certain DEI practices” actually are before he could sign.

“The Department maintains that it fully adheres to both federal and Nevada state laws prohibiting racial discrimination,” Canavero wrote. “However, the specific requirements or implications of the certification remain ambiguous without further guidance … such as precise definitions of compliant and noncompliant practices.”

The Trump administration’s policy is part of a whole-of-government effort to target so-called DEI practices, which have been undefined across departments. Through executive orders, he has attempted to crack down on DEI in schools, the military and businesses.

On Friday, a group of 19 Democratic attorneys general — including Nevada’s Aaron Ford — sued the Department of Education, saying the administration’s interpretation of the Civil Rights Act as it relates to DEI is vague and contradictory, and that withholding federal funds over it is a violation of the Constitution. 

The Trump administration has already lost one lawsuit related to its DEI policy for K-12 schools — at least temporarily. On Thursday, three judges ruled against a precursor policy laid out in a February letter asserting that schools receiving federal funding would be subject to compliance mandates for the administration’s DEI policies. 

The judges’ rulings mean that there is a temporary injunction against the Trump administration following through on its threat to withhold federal funds from schools that employ or contract with National Education Association union members, who filed the lawsuit. 

Numerous states responded to the Department of Education’s letter with flat-out rejections, such as Connecticut, which defended its diversity initiatives, or Maine, which said that executive orders do not have the force of law behind them. Other states, such as Georgia and Iowa, said its schools would comply, and school districts within the state signed their own certification letters. 

But the distinction was not purely political — Utah, which has a Republican governor like Nevada, also did not certify its compliance, making a similar argument that its schools are already in compliance with federal and state anti-discrimination laws.