The Equity Epidemic Is Hurting America’s Students

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies have become embedded in American education despite President Trump’s efforts to eliminate them and some schools’ attempts to rebrand them. A 2025 investigation found that nearly 24,000 schools in 46 states and the District of Columbia were implementing DEI through policies, strategic plans, or practices, affecting more than 14.6 million students.

Equity in education has come to mean something very different from equal opportunity. Rather than giving every student the same opportunity to succeed based on merit and hard work, equity increasingly focuses on producing equal outcomes, even when doing so means changing grading, discipline, curriculum, and academic expectations.