Maine has 10 days to report to the federal government that schools comply with what is being called “antidiscrimination obligations.”

The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that all states must comply with the requirement to continue receiving federal funding.

The memo indicates that race-conscious and DEI programs are forms of discrimination

Maine receives $250 million in funding from the federal Education Department, primarily for low-income students and rural schools.

The memo applies to all states and does not specifically target Maine, as have other cases involving transgender athletes.

It requests certification of compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the responsibilities outlined in “Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard,” which was a 2023 Supreme Court decision that Harvard’s and the University of North Carolina’s race-conscious admissions programs violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions.

The release also references diversity, equity and inclusion – DEI – as a discriminatory practice that must be eliminated at the K-12 level of education.

“Unfortunately, we have seen too many schools flout or outright violate these obligations, including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another based-on identity characteristics in clear violation of Title VI,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor in the release.

The state Education Departments are being required to certify that local school districts are complying with the federal directive and have 10 days to sign and return a certification to the U.S. Department of Education.

The Thursday release comes after President Trump’s executive order on March 20 to dismantle federal Department of Education.