Teachers and other education advocates are feeling giddy at the possibility of moving forward a progressive agenda that the current education secretary, Betsy DeVos, stopped dead in its tracks four years ago.
President-elect Joe Biden campaign’s policy director, Stef Feldman, told the Education Writers Association that as president, Biden would “get some big, bold education legislation passed and certainly immediate relief for our schools and our educators,” and said Biden would take executive actions as well. Many of those executive actions, education advocates hope, will de-DeVos the Department of Education.
Here are some of the likeliest ways public education will change in a Biden-Harris administration.
Enforce All Students’ Civil Rights
Earlier this year, Betsy DeVos announced sweeping revisions to the federal civil rights law Title IX, which prevents discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded schools. As a result, a judicial-like process is now used to investigate sexual harassment complaints, giving the accused a right to cross-examine accusers in a live hearing. Student advocates have said this would deter survivors from reporting assaults, which were already underreported.
Activists must also pressure representatives to fund Biden’s initiatives: “We can’t just get people elected. We must show up daily with a grassroots push to help Biden-Harris.”
Biden has also vowed to restore Obama-era civil rights guidance letters, which were rescinded by DeVos. Those include allowing transgender students to choose their own restrooms, addressing the disproportionate disciplining of Black students and pressing for diversity in colleges and K-12 classrooms.
“The good news is that Secretary DeVos has been more effective at doing damage to Obama-era policies than at creating anything new,” Kevin Welner, director of the National Education Policy Center, told Capital & Main. “So the first and easiest items on the Biden education checklist should be reissuing — and CONTINUE READING: US Education: 5 Ways Biden Can “De-DeVos” the System - LA Progressive
