On a cold February morning, staff at the University of Buffalo Teacher Residency (UBTR) program received an email that would change the course of the 16-month program: the Trump administration had cancelled two federal grants — the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) and Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) programs — which together provided approximately $8.3 million to the UBTR program. These funds paid staff, supported professional development, and provided participating students with a $20,000 stipend that made the program accessible.

UBTR offers aspiring educators a one-year, paid residency that combines coursework with classroom experience in Buffalo Public Schools. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Education recognized UBTR as a national model. The program has helped fill educator shortages while building a workforce that better reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of Buffalo’s students. Since 2020, roughly 30% of Black, Latinx, and multiracial new hires in BPS have come from this pathway.

Without continued federal funding from TQP and SEED grants, a proven pipeline for the next generation of educators — and the students who depend on them — hangs in the balance. The UBTR story is just one example of a much larger statewide challenge.

Although students of color make up 60% of students enrolled in K-12 schools in New York State, 75% of teachers working in those schools are White. School districts and policymaking bodies — including the Governor’s office, New York State Education Department, and the state Legislature — acknowledge that educator diversity is a challenge in New York. They have advanced efforts championed by EdTrust-New York to increase educator diversity in schools by passing legislation to issue guidance to develop Grow Your Own initiatives, establishing the Teacher Opportunity Corps, statewide teacher residency grants, enhancing community outreach efforts, career ladders, and more.

Even as New York State invests in these initiatives to increase educator diversity, and organizations like EdTrust-New York continue to advocate for solutions, federal actions threaten to undo this progress and jeopardize the future of students and educators across the state.

Key threats include:

• An executive order calling for the termination of DEI programs, affecting educator professional development funded by the federal government.
• A U.S. Department of Education Dear Colleague Letter and Department of Justice memo, both threatening to remove federal funding from schools and universities that engage in hiring, admissions, or student support practices that are deemed to be “unlawful DEI”, which is also defined as recruiting first-generation students or those from certain geographic areas.
• Millions of dollars in cuts nationally for educator training programs, including UBTR. State University of New York and City University of New York schools previously received more than $16 million from federal TQP and SEED grants, all of which has been eliminated without warning.

Federal claims that initiatives supporting Black K-12 students — such as hiring more Black male teachers or expanding Black history instruction — are ‘Illegal DEI’.

These actions are not minor shifts — they directly shape what happens in classrooms. Without strong pipelines into teaching, many students of color could go through school without ever being taught by someone who shares their background. Access to educators of color is proven to drive better academic outcomes, strengthen social-emotional well-being, and foster cultural understanding for students of all races. Yet the administration is undermining programs that deliver these benefits — claiming they harm students, even as the evidence shows the opposite.

How New York is Fighting Back and Defending Opportunity

New York State is working to counter these threats by challenging the legality of these actions. Here’s how:

• New York State, along with seven other states, sued the Trump Administration for cutting funding for TQP and SEED grant programs, citing the negative consequences on thousands of students. The Supreme Court, however, let the Trump administration freeze up to $65 million in educational grants while the litigation proceeds.
• The New York State Attorney General affirmed in a statewide guidance that Trump cannot ban Diversity, Equity, Inclusion programs in New York schools.
• The state joined a number of others that also pursued legal action, separate from the lawsuit regarding TQP and SEED, against the Trump administration for illegally freezing billions in education funds this summer. Due to these efforts, the funds were released, including $125 million for teacher training and development. Unfortunately, this does not include the cuts to TQP and SEED grants.
• Governor Hochul, in August 2025, announced $14.5 million in workforce development awards that will allocate funds to the Upskilling Paraprofessionals Program and Alternative Teacher Certification Program in New York State — both of which support addressing educator shortages and support improving educator diversity.

What’s Next: How New York Can Double Down on Equity

To further protect educator diversity efforts in New York, state leaders and policymakers should:

• Use the New York Equity Coalition’s educator diversity data tool to make the case for urgent action. The recently updated tool explores educator diversity and retention in New York State and shows persistent gaps in representation and retention of teachers of color across New York State’s public schools.
• Increase funding for and develop additional pathways into the profession, including partnerships between districts and Education Preparation Programs (EPPs) that give flexible pathways to certification. This should include student teaching and residency stipends, as well as scholarship support. New Mexico and many other states can serve as an example.
• Reduce certification barriers — while maintaining high standards of rigor and quality — by implementing evidence-based alternatives to certification exams, streamlining reciprocity for educators coming from different states, and broadening grade-level certification options.
• Create alternative routes to the master’s degree required for professional licensure; provide financial support for pursuing a master’s; and allow educators to gain authorization for additional subjects or grade levels through an exam or in-service program instead of completing additional semester hours.
• Strengthen retention of teachers of color by expanding mentorship and coaching programs that include collaborative planning time, invest in inclusive school leaders, provide culturally responsive professional development, and ensure salaries and benefits reach competitiveness with other college-educated professions through strategies such as housing subsidies, mortgage assistance, child care support, transportation benefits, and expanded student loan forgiveness.

Federal threats may aim to turn back the clock, but New York has the chance to lead. By safeguarding diversity, equity, and opportunity in education, the state can model what it means to stand up for students — and to invest in the educators of color who will shape the next generation.

About the blog series: When federal leaders make decisions about education and our communities, they don’t stop in D.C. — they land in New York communities. The #DCChoicesNYVoices blog series breaks down how federal threats are reshaping access and opportunity for students and families across the state. Read more here.