Judge dismisses Trump suit over DEI policy in Minneapolis Public Schools

While dismissing the suit, the judge signaled the district's race-based protections would likely fail on their merits.MINNEAPOLIS (CN) — A federal judge on Monday tossed out a Justice Department lawsuit challenging Minneapolis Public Schools’ race-conscious teacher layoff policy.In his 25-page order, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz expressed serious skepticism over the validity of the district’s race-based provisions, noting the policy leaves white teachers with weaker seniority protections compared to teachers of color.However, the George W. Bush appointee ultimately dismissed the case due to the Justice Department’s failure to include the Minneapolis Federation of Educators as a necessary party.“The court has grave doubts about the legality of the racial discrimination in which MPS is forced to engage pursuant to Article 15,” Schiltz said in the ruling, adding the district’s policy is likely not necessary and narrow enough to allow lawful discrimination.The disputed policy, adopted following a three-week teachers strike in 2022, requires the district to skip over “underrepresented” teacher populations during seniority-based layoffs or reassignments and prioritize those teachers for reinstatement.The Trump administration sued in December 2025, calling the policy a pattern of intentional discrimination that favors certain races and genders regardless of experience or job performance.The district defends the policy as “lawful discrimination” intended to address historical imbalances.While Schiltz expressed concerns about the policy’s impact on white teachers, he said the teachers union’s absence from the lawsuit prevents the court from fairly ruling on its legality. Striking down the policy would invalidate negotiated contract terms without giving the union an opportunity to defend them, he said.But Title VII allows the attorney general to bring pattern-or-practice discrimination suits only against public employers, meaning the Justice Department cannot add the private union as a defendant.“MPS and the Union sit on opposite sides of the bargaining table, and the Court cannot simply trust that one party to a CBA will safeguard the interests of the other party,” Schiltz said in the order. “While the Union has no right to include unlawful provisions in a CBA, it has every right to be heard about whether a provision is unlawful.”He added that any decision in favor of the government would leave the school district in an “untenable position” of choosing between violating a court order and the terms of the existing contract.Still, Schiltz rejected the district’s claims that the federal government lacked standing to challenge the provision simply because it had not yet been enforced.“A court would not need to wait for a white teacher to die—and her beneficiary to collect the proceeds of her life‐insurance policy—before hearing a challenge to that disparity,” he said in the order, noting the government typically has the authority to challenge civil rights violations before there is concrete evidence.The school district repeatedly struggled to justify its policy at a May hearing, where its attorneys could not answer questions about which populations were considered underrepresented or explain the meaning and impact of the policy language.The Justice Department argued that “underrepresented” was simply a way to give preferential treatment to teachers based on race, color or national origin without a legitimate purpose.The government also sought to dismantle a union partnership with Black Men Teach, a nonprofit working to increase the number of Black male teachers, though Schiltz dismissed that claim as moot because the agreement had expired.“Minneapolis Public Schools is pleased the Court granted our motion to dismiss this case,” the district told Courthouse News. “We remain committed to working with our labor partners to ensure collective bargaining agreements are in the best interest of our students and employees.”The unsuccessful lawsuit is part of President Trump’s broader campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the public and private sectors, as his administration withholds funding and pursues legal action against institutions with such programs.While the government’s pattern-or-practice suit was blocked, Schiltz said individual teachers directly impacted by the race-based layoff provision can still file individual discrimination charges through the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.The Justice Department did not respond to initial requests for comment.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads