Education Next – R. Shep Melnick
“In October 2014, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the Obama administration’s new “education equity initiative,” explaining that the president could not “continue to wait” for Congress to act “on behalf of vulnerable children.” The centerpiece of this initiative was a 37-page “Dear Colleague” letter (DCL) detailing what public schools must do to ensure that all children have “equal access to educational resources without regard to race, color, or national origin.” The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which developed the letter, contends that Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act authorized this far-reaching regulatory action. Not only is that a highly dubious assertion, but the mandate is more likely to produce political controversy and a blizzard of paperwork than to improve the education of minority children. The letter is the latest in a series of controversial DCLs that the Office for Civil Rights has issued since 2010. Past letters have focused on sexual harassment, programs for English language learners, and school discipline (see “Civil Rights Enforcement Gone Haywire,” features, Fall 2014). In each instance, OCR has used a letter circulated to public education officials nationwide to establish regulatory policy unilaterally, providing no opportunity for public comment or interagency review. Last year’s equity DCL was signed by the assistant secretary for civil rights, Catherine E. Lhamon, who prior to joining OCR had served as lead attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union in a major California school-finance cae.”(more)