THE BASICS
In a recent budget hearing in the House of Representatives, Betsy DeVos indicated that she would not be opposed to allowing schools that engage in discrimination to receive federal funding. Contact Betsy DeVos, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, and your Members of Congress to let them know that this is unacceptable and that taxpayer money should never be given to schools that discriminate against any group of students or staff.
THE ISSUE
Discrimination in schools is illegal, and schools receiving federal money are not allowed to engage in it. You can read more about prohibitions and enforcement of them at the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Betsy DeVos has long been a champion of school choice and the diversion of public funds to support private (including religious) schools. Trump’s budget calls for $1.4 billion to support school choice. In remarks at a recent House budget hearing, DeVos refused to state any form of discrimination that would exclude a school from receiving federal funds.
THE ACTION
- Contact Betsy DeVos via Twitter to tell her that you expect her to follow the civil rights laws of this country, which to do not allow federal dollars to be given to schools that discriminate.
- Contact the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education and tell them that you are concerned about the recent remarks by DeVos, and you would like them, as federal employees with responsibility for upholding the laws of this country, to help ensure that any education policies adopted comply with our civil rights laws. Thank them for the work they are doing; it must not be easy in the current political climate. Contact info: OCR@ed.gov or twitter at @edcivilrights or (800) 421-3481.
- Contact your House and Senate representatives and tell them that you are concerned about DeVos’s recent remarks which indicate that she either does not know about existing discrimination laws or that she plans to ignore them. Tell them that you would like them to exercise oversight over Department of Education policies and oppose any allotment of federal dollars to schools that discriminate. Susan Collins serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, which has special responsibility on this issue; feel free to note that when you call.
