The Department of Education launched an investigation Friday into New York state’s own Education Department and its Board of Regents for threatening to pull funding from a Long Island high school that refused to change its Native American mascot.

Rhode Island joined 18 other states in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education. The lawsuit challenges the potential withholding of federal education funds over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Rhode Island stands to lose over $116 million annually in federal education funding.

The lawsuit filed in Washington on Tuesday claims that the department's guidance to schools misinterprets civil rights laws and discriminates against Black students.