The U.S. Department of Education has stepped back from enforcing a sweeping anti‑DEI Dear Colleague letter after legal challenges and a court injunction. The agency signed a joint motion to dismiss an appeal that would have allowed the Trump administration to press forward with guidance that threatened federal funding for race‑based equity programs. The retreat follows litigation led by the American Federation of Teachers and other plaintiffs who argued the guidance chilled free speech and overreached federal authority. AFT President Randi Weingarten called the agency’s move a reversal of an attempt to “take a hatchet to 60 years of civil rights laws,” according to union statements and court filings. Colleges and K–12 leaders had prepared compliance plans amid uncertainty about enforcement; the dismissal preserves the preliminary injunction that blocked the guidance and reduces near‑term legal pressure on institutions that use race‑conscious supports. The dispute nonetheless signals continued political risk: the department’s policy could be revived or reissued in modified form, and litigants are closely monitoring federal posture.