Tag: Trump Education Department

Biden directs fresh review of Title IX rule on campus sexual assault

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President Biden is directing the Education Department to review a controversial regulation governing how colleges and universities handle allegations of sexual assault, with an eye toward unraveling a new system put into place by former education secretary Betsy DeVos.

The DeVos regulation released last May spells out due process rights for those accused of harassment or assault, and the former secretary saw it as one of her most significant achievements. But it came under sharp attack from Democrats, women’s groups and others, and as a candidate Biden signaled he would replace it.

It’s not clear, though, how he will go about it. Unraveling a regulation that is already in place may require a second complex rulemaking process. Continue reading.

In farewell, DeVos urges Congress to reject Biden’s policies

In a farewell letter to Congress on Monday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urged lawmakers to reject President-elect Joe Biden’s education agenda, while imploring them to shield Trump administration policies that Biden has promised to eliminate.

DeVos does not explicitly acknowledge President Donald Trump’s election defeat nor does she refer to Biden by name. Instead, her letter offers lawmakers “some encouragement and closing thoughts.” As DeVos prepares to exit the Education Department, she says the coronavirus pandemic has exposed much that is “not encouraging” about U.S. education.

“While my time as Secretary is finite, my time as an advocate for children and students knows no limits,” she said in the letter, obtained by The Associated Press. It was sent to leaders in the House and Senate and to committees that oversee the Education Department. Continue reading.

DeVos extends moratorium on federal student loan payments through end of January

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Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Friday extended the suspension of federal student loan payments through the end of January, giving Congress and the incoming Biden administration time to put in place a longer moratorium.

“The coronavirus pandemic has presented challenges for many students and borrowers, and this temporary pause in payments will help those who have been impacted,” DeVos said in a statement Friday. “The added time also allows Congress to do its job and determine what measures it believes are necessary and appropriate. The Congress, not the executive branch, is in charge of student loan policy.”

The payment freeze, which was first introduced in March and later extended, had been set to expire Dec. 31. Continue reading.

Bye, Betsy’: Educators Celebrate the End of the DeVos Era

Stakeholders in the education community celebrated Joe Biden’s victory because it means the end of the troubled tenure of Betsy DeVos.

AFTER THE 2020 presidential election was called for Joe Biden on Saturday, the country’s educators released a collective sigh of relief knowing that, at long last, the days were numbered for the woman they consider Public (School) Enemy No. 1: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

The national teachers unions, their city and state affiliates, school superintendents, principals, educators and parents took to social media to throw DeVos an early retirement party, posting photos and videos of themselves popping bottles of champagne with tears in their eyes, retweeting GIFs and memes of doors being slammed shut, of actors performing trite “buh-byes” and of photoshopped pictures of DeVos as Cruella de Vil and other Disney movie villains. 

The Chicago Teachers Union lit up Twitter with two words: “Bye Betsy.” Continue reading.

Minnesota Leaders Call Out Trump and DeVos’s Chaotic Approach to School Reopening

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, DFL Party leaders, educators, and Minnesota parents hosted a call speaking out against Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s chaotic approach to school reopening, and the major challenges it has created for Minnesota’s families. Featured on the call were DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin, Education Minnesota President Denise Specht, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (46A), State Senator Jason Isaacson (42), and Saint Louis Park resident Bethany Penna.

Excerpts from the call

DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin: “Seven months into this crisis, Donald Trump still does not have a plan to address COVID-19, and he has no real plan to allow kids and teachers to return to school safely. As a parent of two teenagers in District 196, I’m concerned about the complete disregard the Trump administration has had on reopening schools safely. Trump’s failure to lead is the very reason that many schools can’t reopen safely. Trump continues to ignore and contradict medical experts, downplay the threat, and claim that COVID will miraculously disappear. Health experts, educators, and parents oppose Trump’s demand to unsafely reopen schools and his threat to cut funding to those that don’t reopen. Dr. Fauci has directly contradicted Trump saying that schools in coronavirus hotspots should not reopen in person, yet Donald Trump and his administration continue to ignore the advice of these experts. Trump continues to falsely claim that children are virtually immune and will not spread the virus even as students across America get sick and have to quarantine.”

Continue reading “Minnesota Leaders Call Out Trump and DeVos’s Chaotic Approach to School Reopening”

Betsy DeVos actually says the pandemic has been a ‘good thing’ for American schools

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On the heels of two federal judges halting a controversial rule that allows private schools to get more Covid-19 relief funding than Congress intended, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said Friday that she believes the viral pandemic has been a “good thing” for the nation’s education system, a comment that quickly drew criticism from Democrats and public education advocates.

“Betsy DeVos calling Covid-19 a ‘good thing’ for our schools just goes to show you how divorced this administration is from reality,” the Michigan State Democratic Party—of Devos’ home state—tweeted. “Let’s not forget: Millions of kids are forced to stay home from school because Trump failed to handle the virus.”

DeVos made the comment in a Friday interview aired on SiriusXM while discussing how the pandemic has affected the nation’s schools. She claimed the pandemic—which caused teachers nationwide to switch to emergency remote learning plans—has shown that the U.S. education system is “static” and unable to adjust to changing circumstances. Continue reading.

Federal judge halts Betsy DeVos’s controversial rule sending coronavirus aid to private schools

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A federal judge in Washington state temporarily blocked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from enforcing a controversial rule that directs states to give private schools a bigger share of federal coronavirus aid than Congress had intended.

In a lawsuit filed by the state, U.S. District Judge Barbara J. Rothstein on Friday issued a preliminary injunction and castigated the Education Department over the July 1 regulation about the distribution of federal funds. The money, about $13.5 billion, was included for K-12 schools in Congress’s March $2 trillion-aid package — known as the Cares Act — to mitigate economic damage from the pandemic.

Rothstein slammed the Education Department for arguing that states would not suffer irreparable damage if forced to implement the rule and said there was cause to put a preliminary injunction on the rule while the broader issues are worked out. Continue reading.

Education Dept.’s Civil Rights Chief Steps Down Amid Controversy

New York Times logoKenneth L. Marcus was nominated as the head of the Office of Civil Rights in the face of a chorus of opposition. He leaves after a tenure marked by dissension and disputes.

WASHINGTON — The Education Department’s civil rights chief has for 40 years labored to enforce civil rights protections in the nation’s schools and universities, but few have attracted as much attention as Kenneth L. Marcus, who will leave the post this week after two years marked by dissension, disputes — and significant accomplishments.

Mr. Marcus, who came to the job as a fierce champion for Israel and a critic of anti-Zionist movements on college campuses, is credited with overseeing the completion of sexual misconduct rules and expanding civil rights for Jewish students amid rising anti-Semitism. In announcing his departure, he said he had restored the office’s status “as a neutral, impartial civil rights law enforcement agency that faithfully executes the laws as written and in full, no more and no less.”

But in recent months, two separate complaints that have been filed accuse Mr. Marcus of abusing his authority by forcing through cases that furthered his personal and political agenda. In January, a former lawyer in the Office for Civil Rights said Mr. Marcus forced employees to investigate a policy that allowed transgender athletes in Connecticut to compete on female sports teams, even though the lawyers questioned the merits of the case. Continue reading.

DeVos’s claim that children are ‘stoppers’ of covid-19

Washington Post logo“More and more studies show that kids are actually stoppers of the disease and they don’t get it and transmit it themselves, so we should be in a posture of — the default should be getting back to school kids in person, in the classroom.”

— Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, in an interview on “The Conservative Circus” (iHeart radio), July 16

Our eyes popped out when we first heard this comment by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, as she pressed the administration’s case for reopening schools in the fall with in-person classes.

Could children actually be “stoppers” of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus? That would be great news — if true. The interruption of school threatens to create a learning deficit — and many parents may find it difficult to return to work if children are not in classes.

Let’s examine DeVos’s evidence that children do not transmit the coronavirus, as it appears to be influencing administration policy. President Trump echoed her claim in a news briefing Wednesday evening. “They do say that [children] don’t transmit very easily, and a lot of people are saying they don’t transmit,” he said. “They don’t bring it home with them. They don’t catch it easily; they don’t bring it home easily.” Continue reading.

DeVos slammed for meetings with conservatives while school reopening debate rages

The National Education Association says DeVos needs to cancel the events and focus on helping educators reopen schools safely.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is holding three virtual meetings this week with members of the conservative Federalist Society, prompting the nation’s largest teachers union to criticize her for spending time on political events rather than plans for reopening schools shuttered by the pandemic.

The organization announced that she and high-level staff are holding virtual meetings on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday with its chapters in Alabama, Ohio and Arizona to discuss her recently published Title IX regulationgoverning sexual misconduct in schools and colleges. It will go into effect on Aug. 14.

The meetings are closed to the press and are not listed on her public schedule. DeVos has no events on her public schedule this week. On Sunday, she appeared on two news shows to defend the Trump administration’s push to fully reopen schools for the coming academic year, as a national debate rages over whether it’s safe to send kids back to classrooms. Continue reading.