academic outcomes

Nearly 60 years after Congress outlawed housing discrimination, the federal government has had to remind America’s colleges and universities that racial segregation is still illegal. That fact alone should alarm every American. This summer, Craig Trainor, assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), issued a Dear Colleague letter reminding colleges and universities of an important legal and moral principle. In the letter, Trainor wrote: “The law is clear: When educational institutions permit the existence of racially segregated student housing — or openly encourage separation on the basis of race, color, or national origin, advertise a discriminatory preference, or have policies that discourage students from one race, ethnicity, or nationality Read More ›

Today, the Department of Education announced four additional interagency agreements as part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to return education to the states. In typical fashion, the teachers’ unions and their political allies immediately attempted to spread fear, claiming that federal protections are being eliminated, a claim with no basis in reality. Instead, it’s yet another strategic step to reduce unnecessary federal bureaucracy, improve services, and move education decisions closer to the students, families, and communities they affect most. The first agreement establishes a partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. Some opponents immediately claimed that students with disabilities would lose Read More ›