Trump administration targets diversity and public schools Presented by Comcast

With help from Kimberly Hefling and Michael Stratford

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TARGETS DIVERSITY AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS: The Trump administration dropped a bomb on the higher education world late Tuesday just before the holiday, rescinding Obama-era guidance on the use of race in college admissions. But the Education and Justice departments also scrapped Obama-era documents encouraging public schools to boost diversity through school zoning or admissions into competitive schools or programs, among other approaches. Now, some are worried school districts will invite scrutiny from federal officials if they pursue such paths.


— The background: At issue is a 2007 Supreme Court decision that struck down voluntary race-conscious student assignment plans aimed at improving racial balance in public school districts. One year later, the George W. Bush administration stressed in guidelines that “the Department of Education strongly encourages the use of race-neutral methods for assigning students to elementary and secondary schools.”

— But 2011 guidelines issued by the Obama administration detailed a number of ways that public school districts could improve diversity without making decisions based on the race of individual students, in light of the high court’s decision. The guidance stressed that school districts must “use race-neutral approaches only if they are workable.” But when they’re not, districts “may employ generalized race-based approaches,” like redrawing attendance zones “based on the racial composition of particular neighborhoods, as well as on race-neutral factors such as the average household income and average parental education level of particular neighborhoods within the school district.”

— The Obama administration also said school districts could consider diversity in admitting students into competitive schools and in how they funnel students from elementary to middle schools, known as feeder patterns. The guidance also encouraged districts to consider diversity in designing open enrollment policies that allow families to choose from among different public schools.

— Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director of policy and advocacy for AASA, The School Superintendents Association, said the Obama administration’s guidance never drew ire from superintendents or pressured them to adopt such policies — it simply outlined suggestions for local communities that determined diversity was a priority.

— But there’s now concern that school districts might face consequences for considering these avenues should the Trump administration adhere strictly to the Bush guidance, Ellerson Ng said. “If schools decide to use race as a factor when they look at how they zone elementary or middle schools, for example, that could come under suspicion in the new Trump schema,” she said.

— School discipline siren? The Trump administration is also widely expected to scrap Obama-era guidelines aimed at tackling racial disparities in school discipline. A White House school safety commission led by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is considering the move. And one of the documents scrapped by the Justice Department earlier this week may further signal what’s to come: DOJ got rid of a 2016 letter from its own research arm describing its “strong interest in understanding and reducing disparities on the basis of race, national origin (including English learners), sex, and disability in the administration of school discipline.”

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, JULY 5. And happy belated Independence Day! After a weeklong trip to Florida, my husband and I chilled out at home. It’s also kind of hard to go anywhere when your dog is convinced that neighborhood fireworks mean the world is exploding. Talk to me: [email protected] or @caitlinzemma. Send events to: [email protected]. And follow us on Twitter: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro.

PUBLIC SCHOOL ADVOCATE VIES FOR MARYLAND GOVERNOR: Former Vice President Joe Biden and Maryland’s biggest Democratic Party names are throwing their support behind gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous, who won a contested primary late last month and will face incumbent Republican Gov. Larry Hogan this fall. Jealous recently told Morning Education that his family has long been involved in the “battle for educational equity.” His mother, Ann, at age 12, successfully sued a local high school in an effort to desegregate it and was part of the first class of black girls to graduate. She later became an activist and a teacher in Baltimore.

— Jealous has the backing of the state teachers union and his education platform is an easy one for traditional public school advocates to get behind. The former NAACP president wants to fund universal preschool by legalizing and taxing marijuana use and to boost teacher pay through lottery and casino funding. He also wants to tackle poverty in education through “community schools,” which would provide a host of services like “counseling, job training, meals, mentoring programs and health clinics,” according to his plan.

— Jealous’ plan doesn’t mention charter schools, which he told Morning Education have been “labs of innovation” in Maryland. But he said Hogan is “out of step with the people of Maryland in wanting to expand public charter schools.”

— While Jealous led the NAACP, the organization joined the New York City teachers union in a lawsuit against the city’s Department of Education to halt school closures and prevent charter schools from sharing buildings with public ones. In a 2011 op-ed for HuffPost, Jealous wrote that traditional public school students are being “forced into shorter playground periods than their charter school counterparts, or served lunch at 10 a.m. so that charter students can eat at noon. The inequity could not be more glaring.”

LIBERAL WATCHDOG GROUP SEEKS RECUSAL OF EDUCATION OFFICIAL: Democracy Forward, a left-leaning government watchdog group, is calling on one of DeVos’ top aides to recuse herself from reviewing an accreditor of for-profit colleges, citing “extensive conflicts of interest.” Diane Auer Jones, a senior official at the department who’s responsible for accreditation decisions, previously worked at Career Education Corporation, an operator of for-profit colleges, including some that were approved by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. Read the group’s request here.

— The group also says it’s planning to file a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit today against the Education Department to force it to turn over records of Jones’ correspondence with ACICS. DeVos restored the federal recognition of the accreditor earlier this year and is currently weighing a longer-term decision.

CHARTER SCHOOLS PLAY PROMINENTLY IN MICHIGAN GOVERNOR’S RACE: Michigan’s charter school sector was thrust into the spotlight when DeVos was tapped for President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. Critics have scrutinized her record of backing charter school expansion in the state and advocates have long called for more charter school oversight and accountability. Now, Democrats vying to replace Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who’s term limited, are sounding the alarm about school choice and Republicans are voicing their support for the status quo. Michigan’s gubernatorial primary will be held on Aug. 7.

— Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, Detroit’s former health commissioner, says he wants to “De-DeVos Michigan.” El-Sayed’s website said he is pushing for the creation of an independent, statewide charter school authorizing council “to ensure that charter schools work with the communities they serve from a school’s inception.” He also wants to ban for-profit charter schools.

— Other Democratic hopefuls include entrepreneur Shri Thanedar, who also supports a ban on for-profit charter schools; former Xerox executive Bill Cobbs, who’s calling for “defunding” for-profit charter schools; and former state Senate Democratic leader Gretchen Whitmer, who wants more charter school oversight.

— On the Republican side, state Sen. Patrick Colbeck supports school choice and has previously backed legislation to expand the state’s cap on virtual charter schools. His website features a table aimed at “separating fact from fiction” on school choice. Jim Hines, a doctor who backs school choice, doesn’t say much about charter schools on his website. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette also backs charter school expansion and has received campaign contributions from DeVos’ family.

GROUP DROPS BID TO SCRAP OKLAHOMA TAX HIKES FOR TEACHER RAISES: An Oklahoma anti-tax group is dropping its effort to roll back state tax hikes designed to fund teachers’ raises. The move comes after the Oklahoma Supreme Court last month tossed out a petition by the group, led by former GOP Sen. Tom Coburn. The referendum targeted a package of tax hikes passed by the state legislature earlier this year — just before teachers launched a statewide strike in April for more education funding and better pay. The legislation goes into effect on Aug. 1.

— Oklahoma’s high court ruled the referendum was flawed, while noting the group, Oklahoma Taxpayers Unite!, could file a second petition that addresses the deficiencies. The group had until July 18 to collect 42,000 signatures to put the question to voters in November, but decided the court didn’t provide enough time to do so. More from The Associated Press.

MEANWHILE, IN ARIZONA: The group #INVESTINED, a coalition attempting to generate support for Arizona schools, plans to file petitions today with the Arizona Secretary of State seeking a ballot initiative to raise $700 million for a dedicated education fund, Morning Education has learned. Earlier this year, Arizona teachers went on strike. They secured the promise of a 20 percent raise by 2020, but didn’t get the funds to make up for $1 billion in cuts to state education spending since the Great Recession.

— “Over the last three months what we have heard from parents, students and educators is that they have finally had enough,” said Joe Thomas, president of the Arizona Education Association, the state teachers union. Thomas said the coalition has collected more than 240,000 signatures “from all across Arizona to put the power in the hands of the people to give our students and educators the resources they need to make sure every student in this state has the education they deserve for their futures.”

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

— Mollie Moore will be the director of the Washington, D.C., semester program for Baylor University. She previously was senior manager of academic programs at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

REPORT ROLL CALL

— The Interior Department’s inspector general determined the Pine Hill Schools in Pine Hill, N.M., have been operating without fully functioning fire alarm and fire suppression systems since approximately 2005. The IG investigated allegations that school officials and the Bureau of Indian Education failed to maintain the systems. The IG said work on the systems is largely complete but they have not passed safety inspections.

SYLLABUS

— GOP Rep. Jim Jordan accused of turning blind eye to sexual abuse as Ohio State wrestling coach: NBC.

— Wounded students from Parkland school shooting to get $1.63 million: The Associated Press.

— McConnell: There's not much the federal government can do to respond to school shootings: NBC.

— New York set to revise role of school safety agents: WNYC.

— New Michigan law removes basic skills test for teachers: Detroit Free Press.

— The Oakland school board is pushing for more coordination with charter schools, but faces fierce backlash: Chalkbeat.

Don’t go breaking my heart, Pro Education team: @caitlinzemma ([email protected]), @khefling ([email protected]), @mstratford ([email protected]), @BenjaminEW ([email protected]), @MelLeonor_ ([email protected]) and @JaneNorman ([email protected]).

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