Contact: Alan Richard, arichard@southerneducation.org , (202) 641-1300
ATLANTA —The Southern Education Foundation (SEF) has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s Feb. 13 decision to eliminate the Equity Assistance Center-South (EAC-South), a federally funded center based at SEF that has worked to help school districts comply with civil rights laws.
Until February, EAC-South provided critical resources and expertise to school districts across 11 states and the District of Columbia—at the direct request from school districts. The center’s work focused on helping schools address inequities that have persisted from the nation’s legacy of racial segregation in public education. EAC-South provided expert training and consultation and online workshops to help schools tackle issues such as teacher shortages, lack of education resources, school-family engagement, and many other challenges in education that are unfortunate vestiges of segregation that have present-day harmful effects on student learning.
Originally called Desegregation Assistance Centers, EAC-South is one of the four Equity Assistance Centers across the nation. These centers were created to help school districts comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decisions in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) which ended the lawful practice of racial segregation in public education. Prior to the decision in Brown, African American children were lawfully assigned to separate and unequal schools.
“Eliminating the Desegregation Center is a direct attack on legal protections gained through the Civil Rights Movement,” said SEF President and CEO Raymond C. Pierce. “The administration’s attempt to end desegregation is unprecedented and unconstitutional. It weakens the federal government’s legal commitment to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students.”
Today, 132 school districts across the U.S. remain under federal desegregation orders—130 of them in the South. Several of these districts sought assistance from EAC-South in the past two years, underscoring the ongoing need for federal oversight and support. SEF applied for and accepted a U.S. Department of Education grant primarily to address and resolve the longstanding federal school desegregation cases that continue to hinder progress in public education.
Despite this critical, congressionally authorized work, the administration falsely claimed that EAC-South’s work violates federal civil rights law by focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. EAC-South has not violated federal civil rights law and is not a DEI program—it is a technical assistance program mandated under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
SEF remains committed to advocating for educational opportunity, supporting school districts, improving public education, and protecting civil rights in schools.
Founded in 1867, the Southern Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported by partners and donors committed to advancing equitable education policies and practices for students of color and students from low-income families in the South and across the nation.