Betsy DeVos Needs To Do Better
The United States deserves a Secretary of Education who’s working to protect all students’ civil rights. DeVos isn’t.
The civil rights community strongly opposed the confirmation of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who required a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence to assume leadership of an important civil rights agency six months ago this week. We sent a letter to her in February, signed by more than 70 national civil rights and education organizations, about the significance of the department’s role in enforcing bedrock civil rights laws and about the Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR) critical role in enforcing core nondiscrimination statutes in schools. The day after we sent that letter, President Trump, before a joint session of Congress, called education the “civil rights issue of our time.”
We don’t disagree. The fight for education equity is one of the most significant legacies of the civil rights movement, and today high-quality public education remains a fundamental civil and human right. But since her confirmation, DeVos’ actions — rescinding Title IX guidance clarifying transgender student protections (and then issuing confusing instructions months later), scaling back civil rights investigations, and failing to nominate (with the president) a permanent head of OCR with a demonstrated commitment to civil rights — have spoken much louder than her empty rhetoric.
In an Associated Press interview published today, DeVos acknowledged that “racism was rampant” in the past and distanced herself from a statement she made during Black History Month hailing HBCUs as school choice pioneers. While it’s important that DeVos understands the role that racism has played in the American education system, she must do more to recognize the unacceptable remnants of slavery and segregation that — still today — continue to permeate American institutions, including education. So far, her actions have lacked that recognition.
For example, DeVos appeared before appropriations subcommittees in both chambers of Congress earlier this year to defend Trump’s budget proposal, which would — among other things — reduce the staff at OCR by more than 40 employees.
“To address steady increases in the number of complaints received and decreased staffing levels, OCR must make difficult choices,” according to a Department of Education budget document. “OCR’s enforcement staff will be limited in conducting onsite investigations and monitoring, and OCR’s ability to achieve greater coordination and communication regarding core activities will be greatly diminished.”
That is not acceptable. OCR and its leader are responsible for leading the Department of Education’s work to investigate systemic discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs.
DeVos’ testimony in the House and Senate in June also raised concerns, when both Rep. Katherine Clark, D. Mass., and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D. Ore., asked the secretary about discrimination against LGBTQ students. Her answers were unclear, and she offered only rhetoric — telling Merkley that “Discrimination in any form is wrong.”
Let’s be clear: The Department of Education, along with the Department of Justice, is responsible for protecting the civil rights of all students. At a time when the majority of public school students in America are children of color or from low-income families, the nation needs a Secretary of Education who is committed to enforcing our education laws and protecting the civil rights of all students. DeVos has failed repeatedly in this regard. Sympathetic sentiments — when backed up by mean-spirited actions — do nothing to ensure that students attend warm and welcoming schools where they are free to learn and grow without discrimination.
We wrote to DeVos again in April about OCR and the appointment of Candice Jackson, someone with a history of hostility towards civil rights, to serve as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. “In past writings, Ms. Jackson appeared to be ignorant of the history and continued presence of race and sex discrimination, as evidenced by her claims that equal opportunity/affirmative action policies discriminate against White students,” we wrote. “In addition, she has seemingly based the credibility of sexual assault victims on the political affiliation of their alleged assailants.”
That is frankly terrifying, as were Jackson’s comments quoted in The New York Times last month regarding campus sexual assault.
All students are entitled to safe and supportive learning environments where they can focus on the work of learning and preparing for adulthood without fear of harassment, exclusion, or discrimination based on who they are. A child’s right to be safe and live freely as themselves in school should not be a matter of cynical debate, and DeVos, who has a real power to change and make a difference in schools, should recognize that.
In June, we commemorated the 35th anniversary of Plyler v. Doe, the landmark Supreme Court decision that affirmed all children in the United States have the right to attend school regardless of their immigration status. We also recently honored the 45th anniversary of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs or activities. While it’s important to commemorate these significant anniversaries, it’s even more important that the Department of Education continues to honor the legacies of Plyler and Title IX.
To ensure schools and districts understand their obligations, and students and families understand their rights, the Department of Education has issued clarifying guidance. In May 2014, the Departments of Education and Justice issued updated guidance to public elementary and secondary schools to ensure that no child is denied equal access to education, no matter their immigration status. In April 2011, the Department of Education issued a new guidance letter to schools and colleges to clarify Title IX requirements pertaining to sexual violence and harassment allegations — an Obama-era proactive position that is crucial to ensuring safe and equitable campuses. It was also the first time that federal guidelines addressing such violence were compiled into one comprehensive document. Last month, we wrote to DeVos on behalf of nearly 40 organizations in support of this existing Title IX guidance and have neither received a direct response, nor heard any statement from DeVos about supporting this guidance moving forward (to the contrary, she said last month that the guidance needed to be revisited “quickly.”).
It’s critical that the Department of Education continues to abide by these guidance letters and doesn’t backtrack on these issues. The civil rights community will be watching.
As a next step, DeVos needs to clarify her confusing and deeply concerning statements about LGBTQ students; her instructions on transgender student protections; her continued support for investigations of systemic discrimination; and her plan, in partnership with the president, to nominate someone to permanently lead OCR who will ensure justice for students who report discrimination, investigate systemic discrimination, collect and report the data needed to identify where students do and do not have equal opportunity in education, and issue clarifying policy guidance to assist schools, districts, and states in meeting their obligations under federal law.
Our nation’s students deserve no less. It’s time for Betsy DeVos to do better.









