Trump-Sanctioned Discrimination Hitting Schools
Weakened Education Departments leaves the most vulnerable kids behind
Instead of the “No Child Left Behind” slogan of the early 2000s, the Trump Administration’s education position might best be described as “leave the most vulnerable behind.”
In a statement on Trumps Executive Order to “dismantle” the Department of Education, Education Law Center says:
The executive order reveals utter disregard for the Department’s core functions, which are to provide funding for vulnerable student populations across the country, support states’ and school districts’ efforts to provide educational access and opportunity for students, and ensure that states and districts comply with key federal laws including those that protect civil rights.
At risk are 504 plans and protections provided under IDEA. No, those laws aren’t being repealed - but without a department with specialists solely focused on them, the protections they afford may no longer exist.
And - as it turns out - those risks were real.
Save Our Schools Arizona notes:
Gutted Dept. of Ed Struggles to Serve Kids: ProPublica reported this week that, since the Trump administration closed civil rights offices and fired workers at the Dept. of Ed, investigating discrimination in schools is practically “impossible” and “families’ pleas for updates and action have gone unheard.” The Office of Civil Rights has abandoned its priorities (which include investigating discrimination complaints from students and families), and instead is focusing on trying to limit the rights of transgender students and to rid schools of diversity efforts.
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