2025

Item set

• AHA–OAH Statement on Executive Order "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling" (2025)
  This joint statement from the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians calls out the "politicization of history grounded in ahistorical thinking" mandated by Executive Order 14190. More than 30 other organizations have signed on to the statement.
• Dear Colleague Letter (2025)
  This letter, sent to the departments of education in all 50 states, summarizes the Trump administration's position on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). While the letter does not carry the force of law, it states that any institutions of higher education who do not comply with the administration's interpretation of existing nondiscrimination requirements may lose federal funding.
• Executive Order 11246 - Equal Employment Opportunity (1965)
  This executive order enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson was repealed by a January 2025 executive order from Donald Trump. The original order was written to ensure equal opportunity in government employment and limit discrimination based on race. It required employers to furnish documentation of nondiscriminatory practices upon request.
• Executive Order 13672 - Further Amendments to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government, and Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity (2014)
  This executive order by President Barack Obama revised and amended Presidents Richard Nixon's and Lyndon B. Johnson's Executive Orders 11478 and 11246 to include protections against discrimination in the federal government based on sexual orientation or gender identity. President Donald Trump rescinded this order on January 21, 2025, with his own Executive Order 14173.
• Executive Order 13988 - Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation (2021)
  In this executive order, President Joe Biden stated his administration's commitment to the idea that "all persons should receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation." The order directed federal agencies to review all orders, regulations, guidance documents, policies, programs, or other agency actions to ensure they are consistent with this idea and to extend such protections if they are not. President Donald Trump rescinded this order on January 20, 2025, with his own Executive Order 14168.
• Executive Order 14021 - Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free From Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity (2021)
  In this executive order, President Joe Biden declared that under his administration, "all students should be guaranteed an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex," including sexual harassment and sexual violence, as well as discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The order directed federal agencies to review all regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions to ensure they are consistent with this order and to extend such protections if they are not. President Donald Trump rescinded this order on January 20, 2025, with his own Executive Order 14168.
• Executive Order 14151 - Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing (2025)
  This executive order by President Donald Trump directs the Office of Management and Budget to terminate all mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities relating to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. It also requires federal agencies to report a list of all employees in DEI positions within 60 days. As a result, these employees were terminated.
• Executive Order 14160 - Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship (2025)
  This executive order by President Donald Trump aims to end birthright citizenship if a mother is in the United States illegally or the mother is in the U.S. temporarily and the father is not a citizen.
• Executive Order 14168 - Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government (2025)
  This executive order by President Donald Trump narrowly defines sex and gender in a way inconsistent with biology, prohibits gender self-identification on federal documents, ends funding for gender-affirming care, and restricts transgender people from being imprisoned in facilities consistent with their gender identity.
• Executive Order 14173 - Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (2025)
  This executive order by President Donald Trump takes aim at diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives in private institutions, especially institutions of higher education receiving federal funding. It also revokes several longstanding executive orders related to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.
• Executive Order 14190 - Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling (2025)
  This executive order by President Donald Trump directs the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies to end funding and support for "illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination" in K-12 schools, including based on "gender ideology" and "discriminatory equity ideology." It also calls for the reestablishment of the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission "to promote patriotic education."
• Iowa Civil Rights Act (1965)
  This Iowa law outlines the civil rights protections for areas like employment, housing, education, and public accommodations, prohibiting discrimination based on race, creed, religion, color, and national origin. Since its original passage in 1965, the Iowa Civil Rights Act has been expanded to include protections against sex (1970), age (1972), disability (1981), and gender identity and sexual orientation (2007) discrimination. In 2025, the state legislature removed gender identity from the list of protected classes, becoming the first state in the U.S. to do so.
• Proclamation 10903 - Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren de Aragua (2025)
  This proclamation issued by President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to apprehend and remove suspected members of Tren de Aragua from within the U.S. The proclamation calls for the apprehension, restraint, and removal of Venezuelan citizens who are at least 14 years of age, within the U.S., and who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
• Proclamation 10948 - Enhancing National Security By Addressing Risks At Harvard University (2025)
  This presidential proclamation claims that because of an increase of criminal activity at Harvard University, and a failure of the University to comply with federal directives, international student visas will be revoked.
• Proclamation 10949 - Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats (2025)
  A presidential proclamation that reinstates the muslim travel ban from Donald Trump's first presidency.
• Re: DEI Programs Are Lawful Under Federal Civil Rights Laws and Supreme Court Precedent (2025)
  This memorandum from law professors across the United States explains how diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are legally defensible, in spite of the January 21, 2025, Executive Order titled "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity."
• Re: February 14, 2025 Dear Colleague Letter issued by the United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (2025)
  In this letter from the Montana University System, the Chief Legal Counsel responds to the Dear Colleague letter, describing its compliance with the guidance from the Dear Colleague Letter. It calls attention to Montana's work with tribal governments to increase the recruitment and retention of tribal students, noting that the Supreme Court has recognized distinctions based on tribal enrollment as political not racial classification.
• Voting Rights Act (1965)
  The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits racial discrimination in voting, enforcing the voting rights protected by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. Its intent was to outlaw the discriminatory voting practices adopted by many southern states against African Americans. Its power was severely reduced by the 2013 Supreme Court Decision in Shelby County v. Holder and again by Louisiana v. Callais in 2026. Mere days after the decision in Callais, Tennessee passed a new redistricting map that will divide the only majority-Black district in the state. Several other southern states have also taken steps toward redistricting areas with a Black majority.