Civil Rights Coalition Slams Trump Executive Order to Abdicate Federal Responsibility in Educational Opportunity
WASHINGTON – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement following the announcement of President Trump’s executive order directing U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to conduct a study on the federal government’s role in education:
“President Trump’s executive order may be presented as a ‘study,’ but this executive order is dangerous and wrongheaded. State and local primacy without federal oversight in America’s schools has never worked for all children and will not work now.
This executive order is based on a flawed premise and sends a message to states that they no longer have an obligation to do what is necessary to ensure all children get the education they deserve. And it tells parents and children that there will be no recourse if schools fail our nation’s most vulnerable children.
In a few weeks we will commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the seminal Brown v. Board of Education decision, which declared educational apartheid unconstitutional and kickstarted the modern civil rights movement. That decision was made meaningful by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and enforcement actions by the Departments of Education and Justice.
Despite real gains, we have failed to guarantee the promise of Brown. History makes clear that reducing the federal role will make realizing that promise even more elusive. States’ and districts’ power to make most education decisions has never been in jeopardy. But millions of children’s futures will be at risk if the federal government chooses to abdicate its duty to protect students’ civil rights.”
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference, visit www.civilrights.org.
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