Week of February 18, 2025

Good afternoon, all.

As some of you have likely already heard, on February 14, some educational institutions received the Dear Colleague letter from Craig Trainor, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights with the United States Department of Education. This letter provided the Department of Education's current interpretation of Title VI, the 2023 Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), and the 14th Amendment. The letter noted the Department of Education's intent to assure compliance and provided a deadline of fourteen days from receipt of letter with a threat of potential loss of federal funding for failure to comply. This letter provided the Department of Education's interpretation only and is not a legal notice or document.

I have not received such a letter for our institution. I am writing to assure you that our work continues without interruption. We will make no changes to how we serve our students. Any change would be based on policy decisions made by the SCCCD Board of Trustees.

I continue to work closely with SCCCD Chancellor's Office to assure that our operations are compliant with all laws. They, like many of us across the district, remain connected and apprised of communications from CCCCO and other pertinent advisory groups, e.g., the American Council on Education. CCCCO Chancellor Sonya Christian has advised that "our existing programs will continue for the foreseeable future" and to contact your Member of Congress with any concerns.

I will continue to keep you apprised of any discussions or possible changes for our college.

You may access a press release from Attorney General Rob Bonta dated February 13 here: Attorney General Bonta Provides Guidance for Businesses on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Initiatives in the Workplace.

Thank you for all that you are doing for our students.

In solidarity,

Monica Chahal, Ed.D. (she/her)