SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"We are extraordinarily disappointed and alarmed by recent actions you and your staff have taken that have diminished the U.S. Department of Education's enforcement of federal civil rights laws," the senators wrote. (Photo: Tom Sherlin/AP)
Education Secretary DeVos Condemned for 'Alarming' Civil Rights Rollback
"There is no more serious responsibility of the Department than to ensure consistent, vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws and protections for all students."
Jun 28, 2017
More than thirty Senate Democrats and one independent--Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders--sent a letter (pdf) to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday expressing alarm at a recent memo unveiling her department's plans to drastically roll back civil rights protections at public schools.
"You claim to support civil rights and oppose discrimination, but your actions belie your assurances."
--Senate Democrats to Betsy DeVosThe memo, as Common Dreams reported, indicated that the Department of Education intends to undercut Obama-era rules aimed at preventing discriminatory practices in schools across the country. The department has said it will now take a case-by-case approach, which the senators' letter argues "may cause investigators to miss issues of pervasive discrimination or civil rights abuses."
The senators also took aim at DeVos's history of using her family's wealth to promote organizations, like the Family Research Council, that spread "intolerant views of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender non-conforming Americans and others."
The letter continues:
We are extraordinarily disappointed and alarmed by recent actions you and your staff have taken that have diminished the U.S. Department of Education's enforcement of federal civil rights laws. Your testimony in front of Congress, your continued association with groups with records of supporting discrimination, and two memos written by the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, have reemphasized longstanding concerns about your dedication to the idea that all students, no matter their race, religion, disability, country of origin, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, have a right to receive an education free from discrimination.
You claim to support civil rights and oppose discrimination, but your actions belie your assurances. During your continuation hearing, and during recent testimony, you gave confusing and contradictory answers about the federal role in protecting students' civil rights and whether you believe that all schools receiving federal funds should follow civil rights laws.
The senators concluded by calling for a larger education budget--as opposed to the "manifestly cruel" cuts favored by DeVos--and expressing support for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which has launched a two-year investigation into the Trump administration, citing specifically DeVos's "repeated refusal" to commit to enforcing federal civil rights laws.
"There is no more serious responsibility of the Department than to ensure consistent, vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws and protections for all students," the senators wrote. "The Department must fulfill that responsibility and work tirelessly to promote equality, opportunity, and an environment free of discrimination for all our children."
In a statement, Human Rights Campaign--the nation's largest LGBTQ civil rights advocacy group--applauded the signatories of the letter and echoed "their call for DeVos to vigorously enforce civil rights law and ensure LGBTQ students are protected from discrimination."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
More than thirty Senate Democrats and one independent--Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders--sent a letter (pdf) to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday expressing alarm at a recent memo unveiling her department's plans to drastically roll back civil rights protections at public schools.
"You claim to support civil rights and oppose discrimination, but your actions belie your assurances."
--Senate Democrats to Betsy DeVosThe memo, as Common Dreams reported, indicated that the Department of Education intends to undercut Obama-era rules aimed at preventing discriminatory practices in schools across the country. The department has said it will now take a case-by-case approach, which the senators' letter argues "may cause investigators to miss issues of pervasive discrimination or civil rights abuses."
The senators also took aim at DeVos's history of using her family's wealth to promote organizations, like the Family Research Council, that spread "intolerant views of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender non-conforming Americans and others."
The letter continues:
We are extraordinarily disappointed and alarmed by recent actions you and your staff have taken that have diminished the U.S. Department of Education's enforcement of federal civil rights laws. Your testimony in front of Congress, your continued association with groups with records of supporting discrimination, and two memos written by the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, have reemphasized longstanding concerns about your dedication to the idea that all students, no matter their race, religion, disability, country of origin, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, have a right to receive an education free from discrimination.
You claim to support civil rights and oppose discrimination, but your actions belie your assurances. During your continuation hearing, and during recent testimony, you gave confusing and contradictory answers about the federal role in protecting students' civil rights and whether you believe that all schools receiving federal funds should follow civil rights laws.
The senators concluded by calling for a larger education budget--as opposed to the "manifestly cruel" cuts favored by DeVos--and expressing support for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which has launched a two-year investigation into the Trump administration, citing specifically DeVos's "repeated refusal" to commit to enforcing federal civil rights laws.
"There is no more serious responsibility of the Department than to ensure consistent, vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws and protections for all students," the senators wrote. "The Department must fulfill that responsibility and work tirelessly to promote equality, opportunity, and an environment free of discrimination for all our children."
In a statement, Human Rights Campaign--the nation's largest LGBTQ civil rights advocacy group--applauded the signatories of the letter and echoed "their call for DeVos to vigorously enforce civil rights law and ensure LGBTQ students are protected from discrimination."
More than thirty Senate Democrats and one independent--Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders--sent a letter (pdf) to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday expressing alarm at a recent memo unveiling her department's plans to drastically roll back civil rights protections at public schools.
"You claim to support civil rights and oppose discrimination, but your actions belie your assurances."
--Senate Democrats to Betsy DeVosThe memo, as Common Dreams reported, indicated that the Department of Education intends to undercut Obama-era rules aimed at preventing discriminatory practices in schools across the country. The department has said it will now take a case-by-case approach, which the senators' letter argues "may cause investigators to miss issues of pervasive discrimination or civil rights abuses."
The senators also took aim at DeVos's history of using her family's wealth to promote organizations, like the Family Research Council, that spread "intolerant views of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender non-conforming Americans and others."
The letter continues:
We are extraordinarily disappointed and alarmed by recent actions you and your staff have taken that have diminished the U.S. Department of Education's enforcement of federal civil rights laws. Your testimony in front of Congress, your continued association with groups with records of supporting discrimination, and two memos written by the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, have reemphasized longstanding concerns about your dedication to the idea that all students, no matter their race, religion, disability, country of origin, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, have a right to receive an education free from discrimination.
You claim to support civil rights and oppose discrimination, but your actions belie your assurances. During your continuation hearing, and during recent testimony, you gave confusing and contradictory answers about the federal role in protecting students' civil rights and whether you believe that all schools receiving federal funds should follow civil rights laws.
The senators concluded by calling for a larger education budget--as opposed to the "manifestly cruel" cuts favored by DeVos--and expressing support for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which has launched a two-year investigation into the Trump administration, citing specifically DeVos's "repeated refusal" to commit to enforcing federal civil rights laws.
"There is no more serious responsibility of the Department than to ensure consistent, vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws and protections for all students," the senators wrote. "The Department must fulfill that responsibility and work tirelessly to promote equality, opportunity, and an environment free of discrimination for all our children."
In a statement, Human Rights Campaign--the nation's largest LGBTQ civil rights advocacy group--applauded the signatories of the letter and echoed "their call for DeVos to vigorously enforce civil rights law and ensure LGBTQ students are protected from discrimination."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.