A report by Parents Defending Education (PDE) has revealed that the Biden administration has spent over $1 billion on initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in United States schools since 2021.
The report has sparked controversy, with critics arguing that the funds have been directed towards progressive agendas at the expense of academic achievement, leaving students behind in an increasingly competitive educational landscape.
The PDE report, shared with Fox News Digital, analysed nearly four years of publicly available grant data from the U.S. Department of Education.
According to MXM News, researchers identified 229 grants awarded between 2021 and 2024 explicitly tied to DEI-related goals. These grants spanned 42 states and Washington, D.C., and were allocated for purposes such as race-based hiring practices, DEI programming, and mental health training rooted in DEI principles.
Breaking down the spending, PDE revealed that $489,883,797 was allocated for race-based hiring, -$343,337,286 funded general DEI programming, and $169,301,221 supported DEI-driven mental health initiatives.
Examples of these expenditures include a nearly $4 million grant to the Philadelphia School District to implement a restorative justice programme and $38,000 awarded in Michigan for professional development led by an equity consultant.
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PDE Senior Advisor Michele Exner criticised the spending, calling it a misallocation of resources.
She argued that the Department of Education should prioritise core academic achievements over what she described as divisive ideological programmes. She said, “Over one billion dollars squandered on progressive pet projects all while American students’ academic performance continues to plummet.”
The emphasis on DEI under Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has been a hallmark of the Biden administration’s education policy. The Department of Education’s 2022–2026 strategic plan underscores this focus, mentioning “equity” over 70 times and highlighting diversity, equity, inclusion, and social-emotional learning as key priorities.
However, these efforts have faced mounting criticism. Detractors argue that the focus on DEI undermines traditional educational rigour and does little to address students’ academic struggles.
Data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that by the end of the 2023–2024 school year, nearly one-third of public schoolchildren were performing below grade level.
The backlash comes as President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to dismantle the Department of Education upon taking office.
Trump has characterised the department as a hub of wasteful spending, vowing to redirect federal efforts towards what he calls “core educational excellence.”
Also reacting to the report, Tesla and X owner, Elon Musk criticised the report in its entirety.
Reacting to the report in a recent post on X, the billionaire entrepreneur described the spending as “insane.”
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