HBCU advocates seek more campus safety funds

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Nov 28, 2022 View in browser   By Bianca Quilantan PRESSING FOR MORE CAMPUS SAFETY FUNDS — As lawmakers ramp up their appropriations discussions ahead of the mid-December deadline to fund the federal government, historically Black colleges and universities are pressing for targeted funds to protect their campuses from threats. — About a third of all HBCUs were targeted with bomb threats since January. The FBI responded by launching an investigation into the threats made in February, labeling the incidents "hate crimes" and "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism." And HBCU leaders have been demanding charges and a resolution to the threats that rocked their students' sense of security on campus. — FBI Director Christopher Wray earlier this month told lawmakers the bureau is working with state prosecutors to charge an underage person in connection to the first round of bomb threats made to historically Black colleges earlier this year. But, because of "federal limitations on charging juveniles with federal crimes" the bureau is working with the state prosecutors to bring charges. — Congress should now also focus on public safety grants for HBCUs in the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill, according to Lodriguez Murray, United Negro College Fund senior vice president of public policy and government affairs. Murray wants the Judiciary Committee to "take up authorization language, which puts an emphasis on HBCUs" to direct safety funds to campuses that need it. He also put an emphasis on DHS grants . About a third of all HBCUs were targeted with bomb threats since January. | Meg Kinnard/AP Photo — Wray this month also said that the investigation is still ongoing and "we've been very engaged with HBCUs all over the country … and we're determined to see this through." — Some HBCU advocates were critical of the FBI's delivery of the news of a potential suspect and charges that they have been waiting almost a year for. "Many of the leaders of the institutions as well as all of us and UNCF found out via the news media," Murray said. — HBCU leaders say they still want better outreach from the bureau. "I believe two things could simultaneously be true: I believe that the Biden Harris administration may be the best ever administration for HBCUs," Murray said. "Simultaneously, the Department of Justice — and specifically the FBI — could do way better communicating with affected communities that have been terrorized." — When asked for comment, an FBI spokesperson pointed your host to a Nov. 14 press release on the threat update . "We have said repeatedly (in prior statements on the matter) that 'we will continue to share with schools, partners, and the public as information becomes available,'" the FBI said in an email. IT'S MONDAY, NOV. 28. WELCOME TO WEEKLY EDUCATION. Let's grab coffee. Reach me at bquilantan@politico.com . Send tips to my colleagues Mackenzie Wilkes at mwilkes@politico.com , Juan Perez Jr. at jperez@politico.com and Michael Stratford at mstratford@politico.com . And follow us on Twitter: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro .   GO INSIDE THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO is featuring a special edition of our "Future Pulse" newsletter at the 2022 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit from Dec. 6 to 8. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of health industry leaders and innovators solving the biggest global health issues to ensure a healthier, more resilient future for all. SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE .     Want to receive this newsletter every weekday?  Subscribe to POLITICO Pro . You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. Transgender Students FAMILIES FLEE RED STATES RESTRICTING TRANS MEDICAL CARE — Families with transgender kids across the country say policies that restrict access to gender-affirming medical care in their states are forcing them to flee, POLITICO's Annie Connell-Bryan, Joanne Kenen and Jael Holzman report . They are fearful of efforts by conservative governors and legislators to restrict access to medical care for gender dysphoria, a condition that stems from one's lived experience of gender being different from the sex assigned at birth. — The fight over access to gender-affirming medical care for trans youths — like the fight over abortion rights and other issues at the intersection of health, politics, gender, culture and race — is impacting where Americans want to live, work and raise families. — "Nothing is more ominous than allowing politicians and attorneys to render medical judgments on our nation's children," said Marci Bowers, a doctor and president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Bowers emphasized that the complication rate of gender-affirming care is low and that instances in which recipients of treatment come to regret it "are very rare." — POLITICO spoke to more than a dozen transgender teens and adults and their family members. Carrie Jackson, who has a trangender child, was living in Texas when Gov. Greg Abbott issued a directive requiring the state's Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate parents with medically transitioning kids. — "I had this realization," Jackson said, "that there is no way forward that involves staying in Texas." Following the rollout of the Texas directive, her family moved to Maryland for protection. Campaigns TRUMP'S LACKLUSTER '24 BID — The first week of former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign has shown that he is no longer in a separate league from other potential presidential contenders, POLITICO's David Siders reports . But Trump may still be the frontrunner to win the GOP nomination, according to a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll . — However, Trump's announcement was followed by a raft of potential 2024 contenders appearing at the Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas . And Trump has been unable to break through the news, even after Elon Musk lifted Trump's ban on Twitter. Fox News Sunday spent more time talking about the ticketing debacle surrounding Taylor Swift's upcoming tour. — Normally, as the first declared candidate in the presidential primary, said John Watson, a former chair of the Georgia Republican Party, "any time you're the only person in the marketplace, it enables people to be focused on you." But with Trump, he said, "It's becoming increasingly noise that is being ignored by people as they position and think how we win the next election." IN GEORGIA — Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines appeared alongside Georgia Senate hopeful Herschel Walker in an ad targeting Sen. Raphael Warnock in the days ahead of the runoff election. Gaines, an outspoken athlete who says she shouldn't have had to compete against a transgender woman, has been a key face in many ads in the midterm against Democratic candidates. Walker said competing against transgender women is "unfair and wrong." Higher Education DEGREE NOT NECESSARY — Companies across the country, including Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Delta Air Lines Inc. and International Business Machines Corp, are rethinking their educational requirements, The Wall Street Journal's Austen Hufford reports . The companies are instead focusing on skills and experience for some jobs. The movement follows Gov. Larry Hogan's announcement this year that Maryland would no longer require college degrees for some state jobs. Incoming Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro also campaigned on a similar initiative. NO SUSPECT TWO WEEKS AFTER U. OF IDAHO DEATHS — Investigators have yet to identify a suspect two weeks after four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death, CNN's Elizabeth Wolfe reports . Dozens of local, state and federal investigators have gone through more than 1,000 tips and conducted at least 150 interviews. No weapon has been uncovered. Authorities have said the stabbings were targeted. Idaho Gov. Brad Little committed up to $1 million in emergency funds to assist the ongoing investigation. Student Loans ICYMI: GOP-LED STATES URGE SCOTUS TO BLOCK STUDENT DEBT RELIEF — The GOP states, led by the attorneys general of Missouri and Nebraska, said they would support the Supreme Court taking up the legality of President Joe Biden's plan during its current term, so long as it keeps the debt relief plan frozen in the meantime, Michael reports . — "Now that the agency has extended the payment pause well into 2023, no one will be harmed by leaving the injunction while this Court reviews the case," the GOP states wrote in their brief . Biden similarly called on the Supreme Court to rule on the legality of his debt relief plan on Wednesday as he announced the extension of the student loan payment pause into the first half of 2023 "to give the Supreme Court an opportunity to hear the case in its current term." — It's not yet clear whether the Supreme Court will agree to take up the merits of the case or rule only on the administration's emergency request reversing an interim order from a lower court that is blocking debt relief.   POLITICO APP USERS: UPGRADE YOUR APP BY DECEMBER 19! We recently upgraded the POLITICO app with a fresh look and improved features for easier access to POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Starting December 19, users will no longer have access to the previous version of the app. Update your app today to stay on top of essential political news, insights, and analysis from the best journalists in the business. UPDATE iOS APP – UPDATE ANDROID APP .     Syllabus — At Washington state special education schools, years of abuse complaints and lack of academics: ProPublica and The Seattle Times — Opinion: 'Our schools have become battlefields': Teachers consider arming themselves in the classroom: The New York Times — Two years of schooling in one: This Jefferson Parish program hopes to get students back on track: NOLA.com — In Wisconsin, a merger can't save a community college: The Chronicle of Higher Education  — Why don't teachers complain to bosses about infuriating policies?: The Washington Post   Follow us on Twitter Delece Smith-Barrow @DeleceWrites Michael Stratford @mstratford Bianca Quilantan @biancaquilan Juan Perez Jr. @PerezJr   Follow us

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