US Secretary of Education Betsy Devos is arguably the worst Secretary of Education in living memory, favoring private religious schools and appearing to disadvantage the victims of sexual harassment. Among other things.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act—passed was by Congress in March. $13.5 billion was allocated to K-12 schools. Using a Title I formula, the funding is intended mainly for schools in high-poverty areas.

But in the guidance sent to states, Betsy DeVos made it clear she wants to give just as much to private educational institutions, using $180 million of the CARES cash for a “microgrant” (read: voucher) program to assist with private school tuition. It bears repeating that most private schools in the US (78 percent by some estimates) are religious.

DeVos was recently interviewed on SiriusXM radio by New York’s archbishop, Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Referring to her agenda during the coronavirus pandemic and to “a particularly passionate dream” of hers, Dolan asked if it was to “utilize this particular crisis to ensure that justice is finally done to our kids and the parents who choose to send them to faith-based schools.” Her answer: “Yes, absolutely.”

Back in November 2018 Devos announced her intention to restructure Title IX. Part of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title IX states that: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

The proposed changes would redefine how school campuses respond to sexual assault claims and redefine sexual harassment and the conditions that would obligate a Title IX funding recipient to respond to sexual harassment claims. Devos stated that these changes were intended to strengthen legal protections for the accused. (Note: not the victims. Ed)

When the public period for commenting on Title IX opened up for the proposed changes it was for one day only. Nonetheless, approximately 100,000 comments came in, indicating what an important issue this was. Later,this last May, amid the chaos caused by covid 19, when public schools, colleges and universities were wrestling with safety and online teaching, Devos
chose to announce the final Title IX changes, giving the educational community a little over a month to implement the entirety of the proposals.

The changes include (but are not limited to) redefining sexual assault as a repeated action, and allowing for a real time cross examination of the victim by a third party ( plus other rules in favor or sexual predators).

The backlash was immediate, and went far beyond the unprecedented turnaround time required of educational institutions and school systems. The changes were touted as an attempt to be “fairer and better protect accused students,” but civil rights advocates believe it is at the expense of sexual assault survivors. Of concern are the narrowed definition of sexual assault, suggesting it must happen more than once for a student to be allowed to report it as assault; the cross-examination of both students by third party participants; and removing the requirement of colleges to address off-campus assault claims.

The effect of the changes is to make it difficult for victims of sexual harassment or sexual assault to continue their educations, and this amid a global pandemic. Proponents of these rule changes, believe that colleges are not appropriate places to ensure due process and that sexual assault claims should be left to the police. However, colleges have a responsibility to their students to provide a safe and secure learning environment. By stating that colleges have no place in providing due process is perplexing, as institutions of higher learning are structured around rules and guidelines that students are required to adhere to upon admission. By stating that educational systems shouldn’t act when their rules and guidelines are broken would defeat the purpose of creating rules and guidelines in the first place.

Betsy DeVos’s Title IX rule rewrite is an attack on the civil rights of the most vulnerable people in sexual assault cases. Just as with her funneling of millions in federal coronavirus relief to private religious schools and voucher schemes — money that was intended for public schools. Her priorities here are not dubious, they’re disgraceful.

(The above is an edited version of articles appearing in The Humanist. Writers were Margie Delao, the Social Justice and Policy Assistant at the American Humanist Association; and Jennifer Bardi, Senior Editor of The Humanist. 23 May 2020).

My comment: The overall level of education is second-rate as it is, but preferring private schools is a clear discrimination against those who cannot afford private education, e.g African Americans and Latinos. And who is to say that private education is better than public when the teachers are drawn from the same reservoir of talent, or otherwise?