Betsy DeVos continues to be a menace to all of the children attending America’s schools. Though the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights continues to receive complaints about discrimination in schools, under DeVos’s leadership, more than 1,200 investigations have been dismissed because of “insufficient evidence.” These also just happen to be cases which were begun under the Obama administration and had been open for at least six months.
On the surface, it may seem like this is efficiency. After all, it does no good for a case to languish on without progress, resolution and no end in sight. But, as Mother Jones reports, these cases involve serious potential civil rights violations—including racist school discipline practices and sexual violence in school districts. Yet, all of these cases were closed without any corrective action or wrongdoing found on the part of the school or school district.
Here’s why this matters. In DeSoto County, Mississippi, corporal punishment is still allowed per school district policy. Yes, in 2018, this county allows children to be paddled for infractions like skipping class, tardiness, dress code violations and other behaviors. In fact, as noted by Mother Jones, the policy actually states that staff can hit children no more than three “licks per incident on the buttocks with an appropriate instrument approved by the principal.” That in itself sounds like something out of the 1800s. So it shouldn’t surprise us then that black students are more than two and half times likely to receive corporal punishment than their white peers. And, though they only make up 35 percent of the students in the school district, they receive 55 percent of school discipline. This is a serious problem. And a complaint was filed with the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights in 2015. Yet, the case was dismissed in April—even after investigators had met with parents, school officials and visited schools in the district. The reason for dismissal was “insufficient evidence.” But what kind of evidence is really needed when we know for certain the district allows school personnel to beat students as a form of punishment? That kind of thing should never happen in any school in America, ever. How is this okay?
But there’s more. Under DeVos, the Office of Civil Rights is finding all kinds of discriminatory practices acceptable and is being way more lenient with its assessment of violations. During the Obama administration, investigations that took more than six months had a 51 percent rate of finding violations and resulted in mandatory corrective changes. In the Trump era, that rate is now 35 percent. What’s most scary about this is its notable across various forms of discrimination. What was found to be a violation in the Obama administration in specific categories is less likely to be a violation under the Trump administration.
Discrimination complaint topic |
Under Obama |
under Trump |
Limited english proficiency |
70% |
52% |
Education needs for students with disabilities |
45% |
34% |
sexual harassment/violence |
41% |
31% |
racial harassment |
31% |
21% |
We know, without a doubt, that discrimination has not gotten better in America since Donald Trump became its leader. It has only gotten worse and more obvious. So these findings don’t reflect an improving society and lowered discrimination at all. Instead, they just show that DeVos and her crew at the Education Department are more willing to allow it. As Seth Galanter, a former official at the Education Department under Obama said, “The way they are approaching it is they are only dealing with the squeaky wheel. They aren’t doing their full job, which means they can move quickly.” In other words, this is what happens when a racist becomes president and appoints another racist to become the education secretary. What a tragedy for America’s students.