Public school districts in Georgia have reportedly removed content from their websites and altered race-related policies to evade a potential federal crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, according to a recent report from the Defense Policy Institute (DFI). This report suggests that Decatur City Schools (CSD) embedded DEI principles deeply within teacher training and curricula but then concealed these practices when faced with the threat of losing federal funding.
Between 2017 and 2024, the small Atlanta suburb school’s expenditures on DEI initiatives, staff salaries, and race-focused training amounted to millions, as noted by the DFI.
Zimmerman, a senior advisor at DFI, criticized the Decatur City Schools for supposedly adopting a discriminatory agenda while attempting to hide their actions from federal scrutiny. He pointed out that they spent over $2 million promoting racial “equity,” which he argued detracted from genuine educational goals. The training that educators received seemingly aimed at “decolonizing” the curriculum and attributing achievement disparities to white supremacy was labeled by him as counterproductive to student education.
The DFI report highlighted that CSD had spent around $1.8 million on equity staff salaries from 2017 to 2024 and trained teachers using initiatives that included “Beyond Diversity” workshops and discussions focusing on race. Critics claim these efforts insinuated that “whiteness” was responsible for many racial disparities.
Further insights from the report indicated an ongoing shift to downplay Eurocentric perspectives within the curriculum. One initiative mentioned included structural changes aimed at achieving racial equity, calling for educators to recognize Eurocentric biases in teaching and develop a more inclusive learning environment.
Additionally, the district’s equity database held resources that suggested a focus on addressing what they termed as “white supremacy” in American education—this came to light during DFI’s observations. A program named Justice, Action, Diversity, and Equity aimed at middle school students was implemented to address anti-racism and social justice themes.
However, the active promotion of race-centric policies halted after the Trump administration took steps against school systems alleged to have discriminatory DEI practices under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Facing pressures to demonstrate compliance with federal guidelines, CSD officials reportedly removed race-related policies from public access, including an online database focused on DEI resources that vanished from their site.
In April 2025, the school board officially repealed its equity policy as part of compliance with federal directives. Yet, some statements from district leaders suggested that these changes were more about semantics than substance, implying that they would remain committed to their original goals without the backing of specific terminology.
The DFI commented that although compliance with federal civil rights laws was mandated, CSD still adhered to its DEI approaches, opting to temporarily withdraw certain policies while continuing to sanitize racially oriented material from their online resources.
CSD did not provide a response to inquiries regarding these allegations.
