Jill Galvan

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND Plaintiffs, * * * * * * * * Civil Case No.: SAG-25-628 Defendants. * * MEMORANDUM OPINION On February 14, 2025, the United States Department of Education ("DOE") published a "Dear Colleague Letter" ("the Letter") explaining the new administration's positions with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion ("DEI") principles and federal antidiscrimination law. A few weeks later, DOE issued an announcement that it would require states and school districts to affirmatively certify their compliance with DOE's interpretations of Title VI and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard ("SFFA"), 600 U.S. 181 (2023), within ten days ("the Certification Requirement"). Those documents, and whether they created new legal obligations or merely restated existing law, have been the focus of this litigation.

This case illustrates why following procedures is so important. The stringent procedures outlined by the APA are not hollow gestures designed to manufacture the appearance of fair and reasoned decisionmaking; they exist to ensure that agencies stay within the bounds of their delegated authority and exercise that authority within the constraints of the law more broadly. See Nat'l Fed'n. of Indep. Bus. v. Dep't of Labor, 595 U.S. 109, 117 (2022) (*Administrative agencies are creatures of statute."). Still here, this Court takes no view as to whether the policies at issue in this case are good or bad, prudent or foolish, fair or unfair. But, at this stage too, it must closely scrutinize whether the government went about creating and implementing them in the manner the law requires. Here, it did not. And by leapfrogging important procedural requirements, the government has unwittingly run headfirst into serious constitutional problems. Plaintiffs have shown that neither challenged agency action was promulgated in accordance with the procedural requirements of the APA, and that both actions run afoul of important constitutional rights. Both challenged actions accordingly must be vacated. The administration is entitled to express its viewpoints and to promulgate policies aligned with those viewpoints. But it must do so within the procedural bounds Congress has outlined. And it may not do so at the expense of constitutional rights.

ORDER OF JUDGMENT For the reasons stated in the accompanying memorandum opinion, it is this 14th day of August, 2025, ordered that: 1. Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, ECF 66, is granted as to Counts One, Two, Three, Five, and Six and denied as to Count Four; 2. The government's motion, ECF 72, construed as a motion for summary judgment, is granted as to Count Four, and denied as to all other counts; 3. Judgment is entered for Plaintiffs on Counts One, Two, Three, Five, and Six; 4. Judgment is entered for the government on Count Four; 5. The Dear Colleague Letter of February 14, 2025 is VACATED under 5 U.S.C. § 706; and 6. "The Reminder of Legal Obligations Undertaken In Exchange for Receiving Federal Financial Assistance and Request for Certification under Title VI and SFFA v. Harvard" is VACATED under 5 U.S.C. § 706. /s/ Stephanie A. Gallagher United States District Judge

THEREFORE, the Parties do HEREBY STIPULATE AND AGREE as follows: 1. The challenged Agency Actions have been vacated and set aside by the final judgment entered in American Federation of Teachers, et al. v. United States Department of Education, et al., No. 1:25-cv-00628 ("AFT"), and the vacatur and terms of the judgment in AFT apply to Plaintiffs; 2. The challenged Agency Actions will not be relied on in any way by Defendants including by way of seeking to enforce its substance through ED or DOJ civil rights enforcement procedures; 3. The certification demand issued on April 3, 2025 will not be reinstated in substance even if under a different name; 4. The challenged Agency Actions creates no obligation, responsibility, or condition on Plaintiffs in any manner;

NEW: In cases brought by the NEA and AFT, there are now final court orders: Last year's anti-DEI "Dear Colleague" letter is vacated and unenforceable.

DOJ/DOE gave up the fight, dismissing the appeal and case in the Fourth Circuit and subsequently dismissing the the second case with a stipulation.

I don't think it is only our job to teach students how to read long novels; it may also be our jobs to teach them how to live without an online surveillance state. To learn without intrusive apps. To swap notes. To write in a book's margins. To exist in their communities in slow, clunky, human ways.

In its ongoing war against higher ed—and law firms—the battles MAGA has won are those where the other side surrendered in advance. (The Columbia/UT Austin/Paul Weiss "strategy," vs the Harvard/UCLA/Perkins Coie/etc strategy.)

Resistance is not just braver but also smarter and more effective.

Ohio State professor on leave after tackling cameraman filming Gordon Gee An Ohio State University professor was suspended after tackling a cameraman attempting to film former university president E. Gordon Gee.

A Chase Center affiliate assaulted a journalist trying to interview Gordon Gee. See @dispatch.com coverage of the incident, which includes our statement.

www.dispatch.com/story/news/e...

photo of Pam Bondi testifying in the foreground as a group of 7 women and 1 men raise their hands

Likely-historic photo by NBC News of all the Epstein victims asked to raise their hands if they've not yet been asked to meet with the DOJ as Bondi testifies in foreground

That made me happyyyyy

AAUP-OSU Statement on DHS Violence as a Threat to University Values As we witness the violence perpetrated by federal government agencies in Minneapolis and elsewhere, including the murders of Alex Pretti and many others, we are aware of how this brutality is affectin...

New statement from @osuaaup.bsky.social on DHS violence as a threat to university values: “These are impossible conditions in which to work, to learn, to teach, to exercise academic freedom. Our community deserves better.”

I’m ok. I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work.

I don’t let bullies win.

Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.

AAUP President on the Killing of Alex Pretti: “This Moment Demands A Powerful Response from the Labor Movement” AAUP President Todd Wolfson issued the following statement in response to the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday, January 24.

It’s time for labor to stand up around the country against ICE’s racism and violence - just as unions and working people are doing in Minnesota.

www.aaup.org/news/aaup-pr...

Open Letter to Minnesota Law CommunityJanuary 25 January 25, 2026 To the Minnesota Law Community: We, the undersigned faculty of the University of Minnesota Law School, write in our individual capacities to address the federal government's ongoin...

Standing with 65 of my UMN Law colleagues (and counting) to condemn ICE’s lawless conduct towards Minnesotans: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

The majority of organizing happening in Minnesota isn’t just peaceful, it’s INVISIBLE. Moms showing up who won’t be interviewed on TV, people whose ICE patrols don’t turn into viral video. The grocery runs, the donations, the people filming bc they happen to be there. Please remember this.

AAUP President on the Killing of Alex Pretti: “This Moment Demands A Powerful Response from the Labor Movement” AAUP President Todd Wolfson issued the following statement in response to the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday, January 24.

AAUP President Todd Wolfson on the killing of Alex Pretti:

"This moment demands a unified, bold, and powerful response from the labor movement. We are uniting across sectors to organize, mobilize, and wield our full collective power to confront ICE."

Full statement:

What a relief that they’re calling for a general de-escalation of tensions, since it’s hard to tell who’s at fault, the people murdering people or the people who aren’t doing the murdering.

Over 60 students protested the presence of Customs and Border Protection at the OSU career fair today. CBP, an agency of the Dept of Homeland Security, is closely associated with ICE. Three students were arrested.

Photo credit: Kyle Roberston, Columbus Dispatch. Link below.

I like it as a dramatic monologue. Ah love, let us be true! but also...there is no love. Wacky.

Cincinnati teachers join Ohio education organizations in denouncing ICE The organizations claim ICE's operations are intimidating minority communities, leading to a rise in absences among immigrant students.

This week, the Ohio Education Association (OEA), which represents over 100,000 public school employees, joined two local Columbus-area teachers unions in denouncing the recent surge in immigration enforcement by ICE in cities across the country.
by Zack Carreon
www.wvxu.org/education/20...

More background on this absurd, awful situation via @dailynous.com dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...

Happy new year!

One thing 2025 is making me realize is that it's important to say things and to keep saying them, loudly. Like that the idea that we overdid diversity and equity in education is crap. We still haven't done enough by far.

Emphasizing pleasure and fun seems like a necessary course corrective for the overwhelming narratives that currently surround higher education, especially for students like mine who are quite often attending college specifically for material and class advancement. In a time when “return on investment” has become an inescapable buzzword, when the everyday experience of living has been transformed into an unending “grindset,” and when attending my class is often in conflict with taking another shift at work to help make rent, my students could easily become frustrated with an English course that doesn’t offer instant skills for making money. This is especially true with immigrant or international students, students who are working class, or students who are the first in their families to attend university.

This might be too spicy for a teaching statement but I needed to get the words out before I could actually say what I wanted to say.

Thank you for writing this. You lay out so clearly so much we need to keep an eye on.

"We are all humanists now."

With excellent analysis of edtech, public-private partnerships, honest assessment that this isn't just about one party, surveillance and monetization through LMSs, and plans to gamify them. We're all K-16 too now, as they say.

never mind, saw the link!

How do I join?!

film still: Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart in Panic Room

You know what holds up and is an excellent rewatch? Panic Room.

No woman I know in academia would be surprised by this, but its good to see it documented like this, I guess.

A narrative from a faculty member on the current escalation of ICE activity in Columbus.

Please see the list of resources at the end for ways to get involved with orgs doing the work on the ground.

a lot of people are aware that you can factor
2025 = 45²

i'm honored to announce the factorization
2026 = (45-i)(45+i)

I love Broadview! But this is the service I was talking about whose app won't allow printing. The file has to be read in the app's library (to ensure purchase...I get it, but...)

ICE terrorizes Columbus - A better approach is to let immigrants stay and continue contributing — Ohio Immigrant Alliance Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents terrorized Columbus today, trolling parking lots and arresting people in various parts of the city. Officials with the City of Columbus, including the ...

The AAUP-Ohio State executive board condemns ICE escalation in our communities. We urge our members and all who love democracy to do what they can in this moment.

Here’s a statement from the Ohio Immigrant Alliance.

ohioimmigrant.org/blog/2025/12...

Teaching people, do you know a service for old-fashioned print course packets? Thinking about how to encourage students to read off-screen. How to do it for the short material you provide in PDF?

I usually do a custom e-reader, but it works through an app that deliberately makes printing out hard.