Broward schools have severed ties with the youth leadership program Latinos in Action, fearing a continued partnership could jeopardize $30 million in federal dollars.

The contract for the program, which included both elective classes and after-school clubs in high schools, will terminate on Dec. 31, following action taken by the School Board at a Nov. 18 meeting. The termination comes despite pleas by students, advocates and some local members of Congress to fight for the program.

The board’s reason for termination stemmed from a letter Superintendent Howard Hepburn received Sept. 24 from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. The letter alleged that Latinos in Action violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.

A major issue cited was an answer that had been included in a frequently asked questions section of the national group’s website. The question was whether the program was open to all students. The response was, “80% of the class must be Latino. 20% of students may be from any other racial/ethnic background,” which the federal government said is “prohibited racial balancing.”

That language, which had been removed from the website by late September, was not included in the school district’s contract with Latinos in Action.

Still, the federal department threatened to withhold $30 million in Broward County magnet funding if the district didn’t discontinue the partnership. Several other school districts in Florida received similar letters, although State Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz said during a news conference last month that similar letters were not sent to districts in other states that have Latinos in Action chapters.

Wasserman-Schultz led an effort of Democratic members of Congress to urge the Department of Education to reconsider, saying the program doesn’t discriminate. But school district officials say they got no indication the Trump administration would budge.

The School Board’s vote to terminate was 6-3. Some board members praised the program, saying it has helped many foreign-born students acclimate to school and has helped students with their academic, social and leadership skills.

“This has been a tremendous program for our students. It is really disturbing that this is happening now, and it is harmful to students to get rid of this program,” Board Chairwoman Sarah Leonardi, one of the three no votes, said during the meeting.

Board member Adam Cervera said he liked what the organization did but didn’t support the 80-20 provision that had been listed on the organization’s website. “What’s extremely disturbing to me is when we attempted to reach out to the corporate office or the corporate headquarters of Latinos In Action for clarification and to see if they would fix this issue, we didn’t get a response,” Cervera said.

Cervera said he supported terminating the contract, “not because I was not a fan of the program or I don’t think there was value in the program. I will not allow this district to partake in or to engage with any company, any vendor who is breaking the law or is not following federal code.”

Jose Enriquez, CEO and founder of Latinos In Action, sent a letter to the School Board on Nov. 25 disputing Cervera’s assertions. He wrote that his organization had communicated with Hepburn by phone and in writing several times to address the concerns. Enriquez wrote Latinos in Action “has never required or mandated a racial quota,” and that district leadership “confirmed in an email chain that students were not restricted from participating in this course.”

“Despite these efforts, BCPS ended our contract without providing (Latinos in Action) an opportunity to discuss, address, or resolve the Department of Education’s concerns,” Enriquez wrote. “The statements made during the Special Board Meeting regarding racial quota requirements and a lack of communication from LIA were inaccurate and misinformed. We believe it is important to correct the record promptly and transparently.”

School Board member Maura Bulman, who voted to terminate, said Nov. 18 that the only issue influencing her vote was the threat by the U.S. Department of Education.

“I don’t think that how we personally feel about how great the organization is really has any bearing on it,” Bulman said. “It’s just a matter of do we want to jeopardize $30 million or not. … I think we just need to make the decision and be done with it.”