The United States Department of Education has granted universities and schools with specific breed programs, including financial aid and bedroom floors with racial issues and graduation ceremonies, until the end of the month to abolish them or risk losing Federal funds as educators during the holiday until the holiday weekend until the weekend interprets the scope of the new guidelines.
The letter of “Dear Collega” of the Department of Civil Rights Division and aimed at education leaders K-12 and higher establishes a new federal policy of compliance with the law against discrimination that extends beyond the use of the Race in admissions, a practice prohibited since 2023 by 2023 by 2023 by 2023 the Supreme Court of the United States.
The guidelines, signed by the Interim Assistant Secretary of Craig Trainor civil rights, said that the schools that use “breed in decisions related to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, awards, administrative support, discipline, housing, housing, Graduation ceremonies and all other aspects of the life of students, academics and campus ”violated the laws against discrimination and the legal precedent established in the case of affirmative action of the Superior Court.
“The department will no longer tolerate open and undercover racial discrimination that has been generalized in the educational institutions of this nation,” said the letter. He later adds that the Federal Education authorities “will strongly enforce the law on equal terms for all preschool, primary, secondary and post -secondary educational institutions, as well as state educational agencies, which receive financial assistance.”
The letter highlights “White and Asian students, many of which come from disadvantaged environments and low -income families”, as victims of discrimination. He did not mention other types of school programming that attract non -racial groups, such as residences only for women, floors or bedroom room programs for LGBTQ+ students or religious communities.
A department spokesman did not respond to a request for comments on Sunday.
California received around $ 16.3 billion in total federal funds last year for their 5.8 million public school students K-12, according to the Education Data Initiative, which compiles information from government sources. The figures include expenses related to education outside the Department of Education, such as School Meal Programs and Head Start for preschoolers. The letter did not say if the decision applies to the financing that comes from beyond the department.
At the university level, more than $ 1.5 billion are assigned each year from the department to California students through Pell subsidies, which do not have to refund and are given to students with low family income. In addition, more than $ 1 billion are distributed throughout the country through other programs that support low -income students.
The letter did not specify what type of federal funds for schools and universities are at risk.
Education and legal experts said Sunday that the orientation of the department not only They are not controversial. They include scholarships that help underrepresented racial minorities, bedroom floors with cultural issues and optional graduation ceremonies for black, Latin, American native and other university and secondary groups.
Shaun Harper, Professor of Education, Public Policy and Business of the USC, said the message, a strong turn of the application of educational civil rights under President Biden, is “guaranteed to have a chilling effect.”
He also questioned whether the Letter of the Department of Education, which cites the case of affirmative action for a “frame” that “applies more widely” beyond admissions, is legally solid.
“The Supreme Court did not prohibit the programs and resources of the Campus aware of the careers. Instead, he ruled that the race cannot be used as a factor to determine admission, ”said Harper. “Therefore, the letter of the dear colleague is the interpretive overreach.”
California proposition 209, approved in 1996, prevented all public educational institutions in the State from considering the breed in admissions. Private institutions, such as USC and Stanford, were also expelled from the practice after the recent affirmative action ruling of the Supreme Court.
But other campus programs related to the breed have been widely in their place during years in schools, schools and universities of K-12.
In UCLA, the Black Bruin Resource Center was launched in 2020 to “raise, support and inspire the community of the black and African diaspora of the UCLA.” The campus also has a Latinx graduation, previously race graduation, which began in 1973. In Cal State, there is the student achievement program of the Islands and Americans of Americans, Natives of Pacific. Since 1972, USC has celebrated its Latin postgraduate celebration. The websites for each one say they are open to all students.
The notice of the department called such “shameful” graduation ceremonies.
In a statement, the University of California indicated on Sunday that I was not worried about the execution of the department.
The letter “provides guidance on the interpretation of the department of existing anti -discrimination laws and does not appoint any specific institution,” said the statement. “Indicates how OCR [Office of Civil Rights] It intends to enforce these legal requirements. Given the fulfillment of the UC with proposition 209, we do not use the breed -based preferences in our practices. “
The Chancellor's Office of the California State University, which supervises the 23 Campus system, could not be contacted to comment. The USC and Stanford spokesmen could not be contacted to make comments either.
Morgan Polikoff, an education professor at the USC, said he saw the Trump administration movement as a “pretext to go after universities.” The letter, he said, was “much further” of the decision of Harvard's statement action. “But if universities change policies for fear, they can achieve a lot even if the argument of the dear colleague portfolio has no water.”
Edward Blum, founder of the students for fair admissions, the organization that won their affirmative demand against Harvard two years ago in the ruling of the Supreme Court, said the message of the department was a opening save in possible legal fights.
“This letter is probably a prelude to a next series of detailed directives that will identify discriminatory policies and programs that the Department of Education will challenge in the Department of Education,” Blum said. “Public and private educational institutions that have adopted the policies that they consider neutral in the race can soon have those policies declared as illegal racial representatives.”
K-12 schools and higher education institutions have been on alert since the inauguration of President Trump about a series of problems that affect education, including executive orders on the application of immigration and the role of transgender students in sports in sports .
The president nominated the former administrator of the administration of small businesses and wrestling executive, Linda McMahon, to be his secretary of Education and directed McMahon, to whom the Senate has not confirmed, to “get out of a job.”
Trump said he wants to eliminate the department. McMahon, during his confirmation hearing last week, said she and Trump “will work with Congress” to carry out that mission by “presenting a plan with which I think our senators could be on board and our congress to access “
If the department is dismantled, some of its functions can be transferred to other federal departments, including the application of civil rights that move under the Department of Justice.
During his audience, McMahon greatly avoided giving specific responses about diversity, equity and inclusion while being interrogated by Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).
“We are again segregated from our schools, instead of having more inclusion in our schools,” said McMahon. “When there are Dei programs that say that black students need separate graduation ceremonies, or Hispanics need separate ceremonies, we are not achieving what we wanted to achieve with inclusion.”
Murphy mentioned that an organization of black engineers from the United States Military Academy of West Point dissolved after a Trump executive order eliminated Dei in the Federal Government. He asked McMahon if public schools would risk funds on similar -structured SDE programs around ethnic or racial affiliations.
“Certainly I don't want to address today, you know, hypothetical situations. I would like, once you are confirmed, enter and evaluate these programs, see what has been covered, ”said McMahon.
The Department of Education published its letter from the next day.
