It has been over one month since Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was confirmed by the Senate. Secretary DeVos and the Trump Administration have already had a lot of impact on schools during the past month in office, including withdrawing Obama-Era Transgender Guidance and providing guidance on consolidated state plans related to the Every Student Succeeds Act.
However, one item on Secretary DeVos’ agenda that she has not accomplished—identifying a nominee for the important position of Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights. This person ultimately would head the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), including its twelve offices nationwide.
Under the Obama Administration, OCR issued more guidance and investigated more complaints than at any time in our Nation’s history. Secretary DeVos and the Trump Administration have not yet showed their cards on who will lead OCR moving forward or what overall approach they will take to civil rights enforcement in education.
Husch Blackwell Education Attorneys, John Borkowski and Aleks Rushing, will present at the National School Boards Association Conference in Denver on March 26, 2017 on what school board members need to know about the Office for Civil Rights. The presentation will cover federal guidance on diverse civil rights issues affecting school districts, an analysis of OCR’s shifting enforcement priorities, and a discussion of what school board members can do to make sure that their districts are prepared in the event of a complaint or investigation.