Officials with the Alamance-Burlington school system and Alamance Community College, the two largest public education institutions in the county, say they’re unlikely to lose any federal funding as a result of an executive order that President Donald Trump signed on January 20, banning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs nationwide.
Meanwhile, members of the state house and state senate have filed bills that would ban DEI in public education. The house bill would ban the use of DEI in hiring. The senate bill would ban instructional practices that are deemed to promote divisive concepts – e.g., that one race or gender is superior to another – in all North Carolina public schools.
ABSS was listed among dozens of North Carolina public school systems reportedly impacted by the termination of nearly $200 million in federal education grants for N.C. public education initiatives following an executive order that President Donald Trump signed in January, banning DEI throughout the federal government and for organizations that receive federal funding, multiple N.C. news outlets reported on February 21.
School officials, however, told The Alamance News last week that ABSS is unaffected by the reported termination of a $9.8 million, five-year federal grant through High Point University to train future teachers for ABSS, as well as the public school systems in Forsyth and Vance counties.
Officials with both ABSS and ACC said in recent interviews that they’re monitoring their operations closely in light of a “Dear Colleague” memo that the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights issued February 14, warning that educational institutions that fail to comply with the federal ban on DEI by a February 28 deadline could be at risk of losing federal funding.
But how the Trump administration’s ban on DEI in education will eventually play out remains a question mark. Multiple lawsuits have been filed challenging the ban – most recently, a suit filed on February 25 by a national coalition of K-12 educators (the American Federation of Teachers) and several other education groups – over the “Dear Colleague” memo that critics say represents the weaponization of civil rights laws and an attack on “education institutions that teach accurate history and lessons about slavery, diversity and inclusion, among other efforts.”
Three teacher-trainees in ABSS funded by federal grant program
ABSS has three teacher-trainees through High Point University whose positions have been funded by a federal grant since 2022. “They will continue working on their graduate certificates through the upcoming fall semester,” ABSS human resources director Yolanda Anderson told The Alamance News last week.
“ABSS is partnered with [High Point University] on one of those federal grants, the Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) grant, which funds the ASCEND program,” Anderson added.
Other ABSS officials told the newspaper on Monday that they have “no reason to anticipate any loss of federal funding related to new policies,” including the executive order Trump signed on January 20, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.”
“We remain committed to complying with all federal regulations and ensuring that our policies and programs align with current guidelines,” ABSS public information officer Emily-Lynn Adkins told the newspaper this week. “Additionally, we have not received any formal complaints regarding these matters. Our focus continues to be on providing a supportive and inclusive learning environment for all students.”
ABSS previously had one DEI-related position within the human resources department – the director of human resources and equity – that was geared toward diversifying the workforce, as it was described at the time. That position was originally created in 2021 during the administration of then-superintendent Dr. Bruce Benson.
Meanwhile, N.C. superintendent Mo Green, who was elected in November, has outlined some guidelines about “Dear Colleague” memo in a February 21 letter to the state’s 115 public school systems.
Green pointed out that the, as the “Dear Colleague” memo itself states, that guidance does not have “the force or effect of law and does not bind the public or create new legal standards.”
Green elaborated, “Make sure our schools do not discriminate against students or staff based on race, color, or national origin. In other words, we must stay focused on what is legally sound: ensuring fairness, removing barriers to opportunity, and making decisions based on merit and need.”
ABSS created a DEI-related position in 2021 and eliminated it in 2023
In March 2022, ABSS hired Jermaine Porter, a former equity leadership and strategy coordinator for Durham Public Schools, as its first-ever director of human resources and equity. In August 2023, Porter took a position as a high school principal in Lexington; and ABSS subsequently eliminated the position altogether.
Federal funding for ABSS represented about 14.4 percent ($46.6 million) of its total budget of $324.5 million for the previous, 2023-24 fiscal year, the latest period for which all amounts are currently
