PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) -- Providence Mayor Brett Smiley spoke with NBC 10 regarding the federal lawsuit against the Rhode Island Department of Education and Providence Public Schools.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Providence, centers around a program meant to bring more teachers of color to the district.
It offered thousands of dollars to newly hired teachers of color, while not offering anything to their white counterparts.
The suit by the Trump administration called it racial discrimination.
Smiley said he would not comment on the lawsuit, but instead, spoke about the program.
"The majority of our students in Providence are students of color, and they deserve to see a faculty that reflects the diversity within the Providence schools. And it's just one more attempt by the Trump administration to crack down on efforts to diversify this country, to attack strategies to celebrate the cultural richness, the language diversity, the racial diversity...that cities like Providence have."
The state is being sued due to it having control over the public schools.
Funding for the program came from the Rhode Island Foundation, however, they are not named in the lawsuit.