Department of Education’s New DEI Portal Sparks Backlash: ‘Snitch Line’

The U.S. Department of Education’s new “End DEI” portal, which invites the public to complain about diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in K-12 schools, has sparked an online backlash.

Critics called the portal a “snitch line,” with some likening it to programs in Nazi Germany.

Newsweek contacted the department for comment via email.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump‘s administration has sought to dismantle DEI initiatives since he returned to office in January. On his first day back in office, he signed executive orders seeking to end government support for programs promoting DEI.

And on February 14, his administration gave schools and colleges across the country a two-week deadline to end diversity programs or risk having their federal funding cut.

What to Know

The portal is for “parents, students, teachers, and the broader community to submit reports of discrimination based on race or sex in publicly-funded K-12 schools,” the department said in a statement on Thursday.

“The secure portal allows parents to provide an email address, the name of the student’s school or school district, and details of the concerning practices.”

The news release including a statement from Tiffany Justice, the co-founder of the conservative parental rights group Moms for Liberty, who said it was time for parents to “share the receipts of the betrayal that has happened in our public schools.”

The news prompted social media users to denounce the portal, and some encouraged people to flood it with false submissions.

Democrats on the Committee on Education and Workforce said the portal would not protect students’ civil rights, and only “sows division and fear.”

What People Are Saying

Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, said in a statement included in the department’s release: “For years, parents have been begging schools to focus on teaching their kids practical skills like reading, writing, and math, instead of pushing critical theory, rogue sex education and divisive ideologies—but their concerns have been brushed off, mocked, or shut down entirely.

“Parents, now is the time that you share the receipts of the betrayal that has happened in our public schools. This webpage demonstrates that President Trump’s Department of Education is putting power back in the hands of parents.”

Beth Lewis, the director of Save Our Schools Arizona, wrote on X: “US Dept. of Ed has opened snitch line for diversity.”

Alongside a winking emoji, Lewis added that it “would be a crying shame if people reported all of the discrimination happening in AZ’s state-funded private schools.”

The Committee on Education and Workforce Democrats wrote on X: “First, ED paused thousands of racial discrimination and sexual assault cases, delaying students’ justice. Now ED is asking parents to “snitch” on teachers they perceive to be “divisive.” This does not protect students’ civil rights. This only sows division and fear.”

Michael E. Mann, director of the Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote on Bluesky: “I believe Hitler had a program like this.”

Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, wrote on X: “The fact that Trump’s—bigoted, extremist—effort to end diversity, inclusion, & equity in schools uses Moms for Liberty as its only validation tells you everything you need to know. The same M4L that approvingly quoted Hitler & has deep ties to violent groups like the Proud Boys.”

What’s Next

The department said it would use submissions made through the portal to identify investigation targets.