The Senate recently confirmed Linda McMahon as secretary of education. (Getty Images)
"Discrimination in school discipline can have devastating long-term consequences on students and their future opportunities," then-Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a DOJ release.
"The Justice Department Civil Rights Division uses our federal civil rights laws to protect students from discriminatory discipline, including discrimination in suspensions and expulsions, law enforcement referrals and school-based arrests. The investigations that we describe demonstrate how students may experience discrimination based on multiple facets of their identities and reflect our joint commitment to fully protect all students."
In the letter, the DOE and DOJ agencies wrote that their agencies engaged in "decades of enforcement activity" demonstrating "that discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in student discipline was, and continues to be, a significant concern."
"Not surprisingly, districts got skittish about suspending too many students from certain racial groups for chronically disruptive and even violent behavior, and schools descended into chaos. … [I]t shouldn't be controversial to state unequivocally that school policies must be race neutral."
"Discrimination in student discipline forecloses opportunities for students, pushing them out of the classroom and diverting them from a path to success in school and beyond. Significant disparities by race – beginning as early as preschool – have persisted in the application of student discipline in schools," the Dear Colleague letter reads. "While racial disparities in student discipline alone do not violate the law, ensuring compliance with Federal nondiscrimination obligations can involve examining the underlying causes of such disparities."
TRANS INMATE IN PRISON FOR KILLING BABY MUST GET GENDER SURGERY AT 'EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY': JUDGE
A parents' rights supporter holds up a sign during the Chino Valley Unified School District board meeting in Chino, Calif., on July 20, 2023. (Getty Images)
The DOE, which President Donald Trump hopes to fully dismantle, has reversed course on much of the previous administration's "woke" and DEI-related policies during his first three months in office. It also launched an investigation this week into 60 universities due to allegations of antisemitism and violence against Jewish students since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Justice and the Department of Education for comment.
Jamie Joseph is a U.S. Politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering transgender and culture issues, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, and stateside legislative developments.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-must-ditch-biden-era-memo-pushing-racially-discriminatory-discipline-says-parents-group