Until the end of the month, the U.S. Department of Education will scramble educators over holiday weekends to universities with racially-specific programs that include financial aid, racially-themed dorm floors and graduation ceremonies. They offer to universities until they risk losing them. Interpret the fundamental scope of the new guidelines.
The “dear colleague” letter from the Civil Rights Division of the department and letters addressed to K-12 and high-level education leaders are expanding from 2023 onwards beyond the use of race in admissions. Excludes policies. U.S. Supreme Court.
The guidelines signed by the deputy vice-secretary of Civil Rights Craig trainers are: “Decisions on hospitalization, employment, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, awards, administrative assistance, discipline, housing, graduation and all decisions. The schools using the competition said. Other aspects of student, academic and campus life violated the anti-discrimination laws and legal precedents set in the High Court Affirmative Action Case.
“This sector will no longer tolerate the obvious and secret racism that is prevalent in educational institutions in this country,” the letter said. Later, the federal education authorities stated that “equalities for all preschool, primary school, secondary education institutions and state education institutions that receive financial support” “These conditions will be actively enforced.”
The letter singles, “We are white and Asian students, many of whom come from underprivileged backgrounds and low-income families.” They did not mention other types of school programming that appeals to non-racial groups, such as women-only dorms for LGBTQ+ students and religious communities, dorm room floors, and programs.
A department spokesman did not reply to a request for comment on Sunday.
California received approximately $16.3 billion in total federal funds last year for 5.8 million K-12 public school students, according to the Education Data Initiative, which compiles information from government sources. . The figures include education-related expenditures outside the education sector. For example, there are school lunch programs and Head Start for preschool children. The letter did not say whether the decision would apply to funds coming from across the department.
At the university level, over $1.5 billion is allocated to California students from the department each year through PelGrant. Pergrants do not need to be repaid and are given to students with little family income. Additionally, more than $1 billion is distributed nationwide through other programs supporting low-income students.
The letter did not specify that the types of federal funds at schools and universities were at risk.
Education and legal experts say that undergraduate instruction is not only common on Sundays, but also on the practice of academics agreeing that racial use is illegal, but hospitalization and employment — and often not controversial He said he is just targeting this. Includes underrated racial minorities, culturally themed dorm room floors, and scholarships to support optional graduation ceremonies for Black, Latino, Native Americans and other college and high school groups. Masu.
Shaun Harper, a professor of education, public policy and business, said the message is a rapid shift from educational civil rights enforcement under President Biden, and that “is guaranteed to have a calm effect.” There’s.”
He also questioned whether the Ministry of Education’s letter cited positive action cases of “frameworks” that “applied more widely” beyond admissions is legally sound.
“The Supreme Court did not ban race-conscious campus programs or resources. Instead, it determined that races cannot be used as a factor in determining admission,” Harper said. “Therefore, the letters of my dear colleague are interpretive overreach.”
California Proposal 209, approved in 1996, barred all public education institutions in the state from considering hospitalization. Private institutions such as USC and Stanford were also banned from the practice after a recent Supreme Court affirmative ruling.
However, other race-related campus programs have been around for many years in schools, universities and universities from K-12.
At UCLA, the Black Blue In Resource Centre launched in 2020 to “rais, support and inspire the UCLA Black and the African diaspora community.” The campus also features Latino graduations (formerly Laza graduates), which began in 1973. California State LA has Asian American, Native Hawaii and Pacific Island Student Achievement Programs. Since 1972, USC has been holding a celebration of Latin graduation. Each website says it is open to all students.
The department’s notice called such graduation ceremonies “shameful.”
In a statement, the University of California indicated on Sunday that it is not interested in violating the department.
The letter “provides guidance on the division’s interpretation of existing anti-discrimination laws and does not name any particular institutions,” the statement said. “It shows OCR [Office of Civil Rights] We intend to implement these legal requirements. Given UC’s adherence to Proposition 209, we do not use race-based preferences in our practice. ”
The California State University Chancellor’s Office, which oversees the 23 campus system, could not be contacted for comment. USC and Stanford spokesmen could not be reached for comment either.
USC education professor Morgan Polikov said he saw the Trump administration’s move as “an excuse to chase after universities.” He said the letter “far surpassed” the ruling in the Harvard Affirmative Action Case. “But if universities start to change policies out of fear, they can achieve a lot even if the dear colleague’s letter discussion doesn’t hold water.”
Edward Blum, founder of Students for Fair Entrance, an organisation that won a positive case against Harvard in a Supreme Court decision two years ago, said the department’s message was the opening of a potential legal battle. He said he was a salvo.
“This letter is likely a prelude to a series of detailed mandates identifying discriminatory policies and programs challenged by the education sector in federal courts,” Blum said. “Public and private educational institutions that have adopted policies that consider racial neutrality may immediately declare those policies as illegal racial proxies.”
K-12 schools and higher education institutions have been wary of many issues affecting education, including executive orders on immigration enforcement and the role of trans students in sports.
The president nominated former small business manager and wrestling executive Linda McMahon as his education secretary, instructing McMahon, whom the Senate has not confirmed, to “get out of work.”
Trump said he wanted to remove the department. During a confirmation hearing last week, McMahon said she and Trump would “work with Congress” to “work with Congress.”
If a department is dismantled, some of its functions may be transferred to other federal departments, including civil rights enforcement, which moves under the Department of Justice.
During her hearing, McMahon barely shunned giving specific answers about diversity, equity and inclusion, as questioned by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).
“We’re back to more quarantine at schools rather than more inclusion,” McMahon said. “If there is a DEI program where Black students need individual graduations or Hispanics need individual rituals, we are not achieving what we want to achieve inclusively.”
Murphy said the West Point US Army Academy Black Engineers organization has been dissolved after Trump’s executive order eliminated the DEI in the federal government. He asked McMahon if public schools risk funding similar DEI programs, which are structured around ethnic or racial affiliation.
“I certainly don’t want to deal with hypothetical situations today. Once I’ve checked, I’d like to take part in these programs and evaluate them and see what’s covered,” McMahon said. Ta.
The Ministry of Education issued a letter from DEI the following day.
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