Broward County Public Schools has delivered a crushing blow to its Latino community when federal education officials pushed the district to end its well-regarded “Latinos in Action” leadership program or risk losing $30 million in federal funding. The decision affects approximately 2,800 students in 46 schools in a district where nearly 40% of the 236,000 students are Hispanic.
The controversial federal investigation
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights wrote a letter to Superintendent Howard Hepburn informing him that the Latinos in Action program violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Federal officials said the program “appears to be explicitly organized around the concept of Latino ethnicity” and is “textbook racial discrimination”.
The department gave the district just five days to comply with the order of termination, or it would deny a grant of $30 million under the Magnet Schools Assistance Program. The program, according to the federal letter, was discriminatory because it was “designed for and exclusive to Latino students” and not accessible to Black, white, or Asian American students.
Program details and community impact
Latinos in Action is a leadership class as well as an extracurricular club that operates in 16 states in more than 500 schools nationwide. The organization specializes in college and career readiness through academic rigor and service to others, with older students serving as role models and literacy tutors to younger students, including students with special needs.
In Broward County, the program has been in effect since 2015 and was being offered at 44 middle schools and high schools in the district. The program focuses on empowering Latino youth to serve and lead their communities and to prepare them for careers and college.
School officials push back on federal interpretation
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz described “This is a targeted attack. Latinos in Action is a fantastic leadership and mentoring program open to all students at @browardschools. Trump’s threat to withhold school funding simply because a program uplifts Latino culture and community is unlawful and discriminatory.”
Board member Adam Cervera, who is the only Hispanic member, acknowledged the desire for Latino representation in making the argument that the district must comply with federal law. “I am a proud Cuban American, and of course I want Latinos to be well-represented in this district and in this community; however, we are going to do that within the confines of all state and federal legislation,” Cervera stated.
- The Anti-DEI campaign
This action is a continuation of the Trump administration’s broader assault on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in schools. The Department of Education has worked to systematically erase DEI initiatives, placing employees in DEI roles on paid administrative leave and issuing schools and universities ultimatums to abolish diversity initiatives or risk the loss of federal funding.
In February 2025, the Education Department sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to all schools and universities that accept federal funds, directing them to terminate “racial preferences” in admissions, financial aid, and other areas. The directive follows President Trump’s executive order banning DEI programs as he continues his war against “wokeness”.
Legal foundation: Supreme Court precedent
The national program draws extensively from the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which effectively ended race-conscious admissions at universities. The decision ruled that universities must use “colorblind criteria” for admissions, rejecting decades of precedent allowing for the use of race as one factor among many.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that “the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges overcome, skills forged, or lessons imparted but the color of their skin”. That precedent has now been extended to K-12 educational programs, creating a new legal landscape for diversity efforts.
Financial stakes and community response
The $30 million in jeopardy is funding from the Magnet Schools Assistance Program, which supports educational diversity programs. School officials argue, however, that this grant is not linked to the Latinos in Action program, and board member Allen Zeman characterized the federal action as “extortion”.
A petition bearing over 1,100 signatures has urged Broward County Public Schools and the U.S. Department of Education to restore and extend the program rather than abolish it. The petition argues that “students of all racial and ethnic groups have taken the course and benefited from it”.
Program cancellation and future uncertainty
Beginning in January 2026, Broward County will be abandoning the Latinos in Action curriculum in leadership classes. While the official class will be ending, the district has not indicated whether the activities of affiliated clubs will continue.
The district assured parents that “this change will not lessen our commitment to all of our students” and promised to continue providing “opportunities for enrichment, leadership development and pathways that lead each student to success in college, career and community”.
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