The Department of Education told public schools across the country in a letter that they must drop diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies within 14 days or they could lose federal funding.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) published the letter on X.

"Institutions that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding," wrote Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights in the Department of Education.

"The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent," he also wrote in the letter.