{"id":43178,"date":"2025-03-07T20:23:40","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T20:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanorchestras.org\/?p=43178"},"modified":"2025-03-07T20:23:41","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T20:23:41","slug":"new-court-action-as-nea-grant-deadline-nears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanorchestras.org\/new-court-action-as-nea-grant-deadline-nears\/","title":{"rendered":"New Court Action as NEA Grant Deadline Nears"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 7, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the National Endowment for the Arts implements recent Executive Orders, grant applicants are newly required to certify their compliance with restrictions related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and \u201cgender ideology.\u201d Court action underway calls for halting implementation of these restrictions, as prospective applicants face a March 11 deadline for registering their intent to apply for the first round of FY26 grants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Action to Date<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The NEA\u2019s Assurance of Compliance specifies\u00a0Executive Order No. 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity<\/strong><\/a>, and\u00a0Executive Order No. 14168, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government<\/strong><\/a>, and calls for applicants to comply with all applicable Executive Orders while the award is being administered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, February 21, a federal judge issued a\u202fpreliminary injunction (PDF)<\/strong><\/a>\u202fin response to a case led by the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, pausing implementation of EO 14173. On March 3, a federal judge in Maryland refused to halt the injunction, noting in the decision<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>that the Administration’s policies must comply with the United States Constitution, and particularly in this case, free speech and due process rights. The Administration is appealing the ruling.\u00a0The NEA has updated its Assurance of Compliance language to explain that EO 14173 will not apply while the preliminary injunction is in effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 6, the American Civil Liberties Union\u00a0filed a federal lawsuit<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0against the National Endowment for the Arts, challenging the requirement that all grant applicants certify that \u201cfederal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology,\u201d citing the following violations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Amendment<\/strong> \u2013 Restricts artistic expression and imposes viewpoint-based discrimination by prohibiting funding for projects that address gender identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fifth Amendment<\/strong> \u2013 Violates due process protections by imposing vague and arbitrary restrictions that applicants cannot clearly interpret or challenge, creating uncertainty about what programming is permitted and exposing applicants to potential funding claw backs or future disqualification without a fair process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Administrative Procedure Act (APA)<\/strong> \u2013 Arbitrarily changes grant eligibility requirements without proper public notice or comment, bypassing required procedures for federal rulemaking. The suit is filed on behalf of Rhode Island Latino Arts, the Theater Offensive, National Queer Theater, and Theatre Communications Group. Pending court action, the provision related to “gender ideology” in the Assurance of Compliance remains in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next Steps Ahead<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The League is keeping orchestras informed through frequent updates to our\u00a0NEA grant process resource page<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0with detailed information about the new requirements and corresponding court action.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In close partnership with the wider arts sector, the League continues to advocate<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>in support of funding for the National Endowment for the Arts as Congress takes action on spending decisions for the remainder of FY25 and soon turns attention to FY26 priorities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the National Endowment for the Arts implements recent Executive Orders, grant applicants are newly required to certify their compliance with restrictions related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and \u201cgender ideology.\u201d Court action underway calls for halting implementation of these restrictions, as prospective applicants face a March 11 deadline for registering their intent to apply for the first round of FY26 grants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[132],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","format-article","news-type-advocacy-news","news-type-advocacy-updates","news-type-newsletter","topic-advocacy","topic-development-fundraising","topic-nea-funding"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew Court Action as NEA Grant Deadline Nears - 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