| | | | |  | | By Bianca Quilantan | Presented by The Yass Prize for Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education | With help from Juan Perez Jr. and Michael Stratford
|  Education Secretary Miguel Cardona | Getty Images | UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES — Education Secretary Miguel Cardona plans to unveil his proposed Title IX rule in June, a two-month delay from the Biden administration's plan to release the rule in April. "The Department is taking the time necessary to ensure that schools are providing students with educational environments free from discrimination," a department spokesperson said in a statement on Friday. — Further delaying a proposed rule means former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' rule will stay in effect longer. The rule, say advocates and Title IX investigators, has exacerbated students' wait times, which can be months or years, for resolutions to complaints. And its court-like hearings and narrower definition of sexual harassment have deterred many students from filing formal Title IX complaints — a fear advocates expressed when DeVos first unveiled her rule. — DeVos' rule on campus: Dharma Koffer broke up with her college boyfriend while attending school in rural Idaho. For two years after, he enrolled in her classes, started a new job where she worked, joined the same school clubs, parked next to her at school and began going to the gym at midnight — the same time Koffer would go. — She reported this as stalking to her school. At first, the school granted a mutual no-contact order, and Koffer reported violations. But when DeVos' Title IX rule was finalized in 2020, Koffer said her school could no longer help. "When new regs went into effect, my school just kind of stopped helping me," said Koffer, now a policy organizer at Know Your IX, which advocates for victims of sexual misconduct. "It wasn't severe, pervasive and objectively offensive enough, I guess, to be considered worth something the school needed to act on." — So she dropped out of clubs, including one her scholarship relied on; she resigned from the job; her grades sunk; and she said she endured the stalking until she graduated. Read more here.
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|  Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) | AP | — The Title IX rule could be vulnerable next Congress: Supporters of the DeVos rule are urging the Education Department to leave the rule alone. A coalition of 26 organizations, led by the Defense of Freedom Institute, an advocacy group led by former DeVos Education Department officials, sent a letter in April urging the department to halt its plans to overhaul the rule. — In Congress, Republicans have taken issue with an expected update to the rule, which would clarify that sex-based discrimination protections also apply to gender identity and sexual orientation. The longer it takes the agency to finalize Cardona's Title IX rule — depending on the midterm elections — the more likely a future GOP majority in Congress could use the Congressional Review Act, which gives lawmakers 60 legislative days to overturn major rules issued by federal agencies. — Last week, Republicans unveiled a resolution that aims to define what "sex" is through a "Women's Bill of Rights." One leader of the resolution, Rep. Debbie Lesko, when asked by your host if a GOP majority would use the CRA on Cardona's rule, said: "I would hope so. It's very important that we protect women and girls' rights. I think that goes across party lines and people just think it's gone too far." "I think that all people should be protected and not discriminated against," the Arizona Republican said in a brief interview. "But when you prioritize one group of people at the detriment of another group of people, meaning women and girls, then it's gone too far." IT'S MONDAY, MAY 23. WELCOME TO WEEKLY EDUCATION. HAVE WE MET YET? Let's grab coffee. Ping me at bquilantan@politico.com to chat. Send tips to my colleagues Juan Perez Jr. at jperez@politico.com and Michael Stratford at mstratford@politico.com. And follow us on Twitter: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro.
| | | | A message from The Yass Prize for Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education: Do you know an education provider who is transforming education with 21st century ideas? A school that ensures every student has a clear and successful path to college and career? Introducing The Yass Prize for Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education , or STOP, for Education. We are looking for the outliers - the groups, the people, the educators who may be overlooked yet deserve recognition. Apply today for the opportunity of a lifetime. | | | | | | NSBA RELEASES REVIEW OF 'DOMESTIC TERRORISM' LETTER — An outside review commissioned by the National School Boards Association found the group's request last year that the Biden administration investigate threats against school board members as possible "domestic terrorism" came from the then-leader of the group, not the White House. — The September letter from NSBA to President Joe Biden sparked a backlash from conservatives because it prompted Attorney General Merrick Garland several days later to issue a memo directing the FBI and federal prosecutors to discuss the threats with local leaders. Republicans have accused the organization of colluding with the Biden administration to get federal law enforcement to stifle dissent from parents protesting their local school boards. — The outside review, released on Friday, "did not find direct or indirect evidence" that the Biden administration requested the letter from the group. Chip Slaven, then the NSBA's interim head, "was behind the letter, both in origin and substance," according to the report. — The review did find, however, that Slaven was in close touch with the White House in the weeks leading up to his controversial request. Mary Wall, a senior White House adviser, asked Slaven for an advance copy of the letter. Slaven responded with a summary that included the group's desire for possible law enforcement action against threats and acts of violence under the Patriot Act "in regards to domestic terrorism," among several other federal laws. The report does not include any response from Wall to that email. — A White House spokesperson said the report confirms that "the administration did not request this letter," adding that it routinely communicates with organizations "of all kinds and political persuasions" and requests advance copies of letters being sent to the president. The spokesperson added that Wall "did not interact with the Department of Justice about this issue." The DOJ declined to comment.
| | | | DON'T MISS DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | |  Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo directing the FBI and federal prosecutors to discuss the threats at school board meetings with local leaders. | AP | — The report shows that NSBA deliberated internally over whether to ask for even more drastic federal action to address threats to school board members. An earlier draft letter not sent asked that "the Army National Guard and its Military Police be deployed to certain school districts and related events where students and school personnel have been subjected to acts and threats of violence." — The report also paints NSBA as at odds with other education groups on the issue. Emails show, for example, that officials at AASA, The School Superintendents Association, were uncomfortable with calling for increased federal involvement in situations at local school boards. — The NSBA, which has apologized for sending the letter, has been roiled for months amid defections from state-level affiliates and Republican Congressional investigations into the issue. On Friday, the current head of the group, John Heim, said the letter "directly contradicts our core commitments to parent engagement, local control and nonpartisanship." — Slaven, for his part, said in a statement that NSBA "owes no one an apology for standing up against violence and threats." He said he was "saddened to see that the current leadership of NSBA appears to be afraid to stand up for local school board members and the students who attend public schools."
| | | WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK — The House Education and Labor committee is holding a hearing on Thursday at noon, entitled " Examining the policies and priorities of the U.S. Department of Education." The hearing will be the committee's budget oversight hearing with Cardona expected to testify. House Democrats are looking to ask the Education secretary about the Biden administration's progress in strengthening students' civil rights, keeping schools open and helping federal student loan borrowers. BURR, FOXX BLAST CARDONA FOR NO RESPONSE — Congress' top education Republicans Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) sent a letter to Cardona demanding a response to their request on "Federal Student Aid's sharing personal FAFSA data with Facebook via 'Meta Pixel.'" — "You have failed to respond to our letter," they wrote. "Further, conversations with department staff have been obstructive, stalling, or potentially dishonest." — Burr and Foxx sent their initial request earlier this month, asking for more information on a report that found code embedded in the FAFSA website was sending data like names, email addresses and ZIP codes to Facebook.
| | | — Mary Christina Riley, former legislative director for Rep. Rick Allen (R-Ga.), starts today as professional staff on the House Education and Labor committee working on higher education for Foxx.
| | | | A message from The Yass Prize for Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education:   | | | | | | — Florida is banning "social justice" from its K-12 textbooks: Mother Jones — Occupy Wall Street activists pay off student debt for nearly 500 Black women at HBCU: USA Today — School counselors sound cry for help after Buffalo shooting: ABC News — Opinion: Kids are far, far behind in school: The Atlantic — Baylor will rename campus area and relocate statue of slave-owning former university president: The Texas Tribune
| | | | A message from The Yass Prize for Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education: Education remains one of the hottest topics in politics today, and we're on a hunt to identify and reward the most excellent and innovative educational providers in the US.
Introducing The Yass Prize for Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education - STOP, for Education that is. These 4 core principles have the power to drive educational change for every child.
The Yass Prize is the Pulitzer of Education, the Oscar of Innovation, and the STOP Awards are supporting actors awards. Powered by the Center for Education Reform, this year's competition will award more than $10 million to 64 education providers who know how to STOP for Education. Find out more at YassPrize.org. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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