It has been less than a month since President Donald Trump took office, and his administration’s targeting of the education system has already begun. On Jan. 21, Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing federal organizations not to form contracts with private organizations that have DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) policies.
Other DEI-related executive orders he signed were titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The executive order on gender legally redefines sex as unchangeable and binary (exclusively male or female). This runs contrary to the modern scientific understanding of sex as a spectrum of connected traits.
The order states it intends to protect women by preventing “men” from accessing women’s spaces. In federally defining a man as “a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the small reproductive cell,” the order categorizes trans women and some nonbinary individuals as men. This includes those who have received gender-affirming care to change their sexual characteristics.
Through this order, federal agencies are required to remove any materials that acknowledge the existence of transgender people from agency forms, policies, statements and other documents. In complying, federal organizations will also ensure that single-sex spaces, such as bathrooms and prisons, are designated by a person’s “gamete production at conception” and stop the federal funding of education on LGBTQ+ issues.
The Jan. 21 executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” seeks to remove all DEI initiatives from the federal government. The University of California said in a statement that it is “evaluating recent executive orders issued by Trump and the agency’s guidance to understand their potential impact on our communities.”
District Chancellor Ronald Gerhard as well as LPC and Chabot college presidents Dyrell Foster and Jamal Cooks, respectively, addressed the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District (CLPCCD) about federal actions that would impact DEI in the near future.
According to a letter sent by the chancellor and college presidents to the district on Feb. 6, students will still have access to Pell grants, direct loans and grant funding for student success programs that remain in effect.
The letter also states that despite the Trump administration’s agenda to eradicate DEI programs, CLPCCD will continue to support students from historically underrepresented communities. According to Michelle Gonzales, one of the coordinators for the Las Positas Collaborative on Equity and Professional Growth, the federal attacks on DEI have no direct impact on California and, by extension, LPC.
“We are not going to obey the federal government’s directive when we have our own autonomy here in California and in our own district,” Gonzales said.
California State Attorney Rob Bonta made a joint statement with 12 other state attorneys stating that they strongly oppose the executive orders targeting DEI initiatives.
Due to the executive order pertaining to gender, only two genders (male and female) will be recognized on a federal level. However, CLPCCD will continue to honor the names and genders of LGBTQ+ students in student records and other official documents. When asked how LPC will further support LGBTQ+ students, Gonzales said that LPC will create a learning community for them, similar to Umoja and Puente.
LPC will also offer professional learning modules for faculty, staff and administrators on how to navigate the attempted dismantling of DEI. Some of the learning modules that are available in the coming months are titled “Racially inclusive curriculum in teaching” and “Race-conscious grade and attendance mapping.”
“Everything is up in the air right now. We are in the early stages of this, so we don’t know what is going to happen,” Gonzales said.
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TOP PHOTO: California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaking while in front of the Golden Gate Bridge on Nov. 7, 2024. Bonta has been outspoken about his commitment to preserving DEI in California, stating “progress will prevail.” (Photo courtesy of Rob Bontas Instagram @agrobbonta)
Sabrina Hossain is the Social Media Editor for The Express. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter @WritersBlock678.
