Latest news with #CraigTrainor
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
United States Department of Education opens disability discrimination investigation into Green Bay Area Public School District
(WFRV) – The United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced on Wednesday that it is opening a Title VI and disability-discrimination investigation into the Green Bay Area Public School District. A release from the Department of Education's OCR said the investigation is based on a complaint from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. The complaint alleges that the Green Bay Area Public School District discriminated against a student with dyslexia based on their race. Groups gather outside Senator Ron Johnson's Oshkosh office to voice concerns over possible Medicaid & Medicare cutsA According to the release, the complaint specifically alleged that the District prioritizes its special education services to students based on racial priority groups. The complaint also said that the student in question did not fall into the group because he is white, the OCR release said. The complaint continues, alleging that the District 'discriminated against the student based on disability and failed to provide timely and adequate special education services.' The statement below is from the Department of Education's press release: 'In America, we do not 'prioritize' students for educational access, nor do we judge their worth, on the basis of skin color. Schools must provide special needs students access to supportive educational resources on an equal footing and on the basis of need, not on the basis of race. The Trump-McMahon Education Department rejects the false and patronizing idea that certain forms of discrimination are 'benign.' We will vigorously investigate this matter to ensure that the Green Bay Area Public School District is not discriminating against its students on the basis of race and disability.' Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor The statement below is from the press release, referring to the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty: 'We are grateful to Secretary McMahon and the Office for Civil Rights for opening this investigation into Green Bay Area Public School District. It is heartbreaking to think that, in America, a school would consider whether or not to provide services to a disabled student based not on that student's need, but on the color his skin. This is not only unlawful – it is an affront to the character of the American people. We are proud to work alongside the Department of Education to hold schools accountable for their antidiscrimination obligations and to ensure that no student is denied their equal opportunity protections under the law.' Cory Brewer, Education Counsel at Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty Menasha school district negotiating to take over Fox Cities childcare center The full release can be viewed here. The official complaint is available here. Local 5 will provide updates on this situation as needed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
U.S. Education Department launches civil rights investigation into Green Bay School District
The U.S. Education Department's Office of Civil Rights has launched an investigation into the Green Bay School District after a January complaint alleged an elementary school discriminated against a White student based on his race. 'In America, we do not 'prioritize' students for educational access, nor do we judge their worth, on the basis of skin color. Schools must provide special needs students access to supportive educational resources on an equal footing and on the basis of need, not on the basis of race,' acting assistant secretary for civil rights Craig Trainor said in a May 28 news release. In the complaint, the law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty alleged the district discriminated against Green Bay King Elementary parent Colby Decker's son by not providing him access to literacy resources because he was not a 'focus student,' which was defined as a First Nations, Black or Hispanic student in King's student success plan. The focus student language has since been changed. Decker's son has dyslexia, and she told WILL she requested he receive a one-on-one intervention. She said her son was put on a waiting list for reading interventions in April 2024 and was finally placed in a small group intervention last fall, which she said caused her son to fall behind. Decker and WILL allege the district violated Title VI, which prohibits racial and ethnic discrimination. The civil rights complaint also raised concerns about the way the district handled WILL's original complaint, saying the district's investigation was biased. The complaint also claimed the district didn't meet special education law needs relating to Decker's son's dyslexia, which they said would account for discrimination on the basis of disability. On May 28, OCR said it had opened a formal investigation into Green Bay based on the complaint. It will investigate whether the district violated Title VI, which prohibits racial and ethnic discrimination, and whether it failed to evaluate Decker's son as a student with disabilities, which it says is discrimination under federal law. "The district had many opportunities to change course and make clear it would be treating its students in a colorblind way, and they didn't do that," WILL legal counsel Cory Brewer said. "We really hope this investigation is eye-opening for the district, particularly for district leaders." Green Bay communications director Lori Blakeslee said the district hadn't yet received anything from OCR. Contact Green Bay education reporter Nadia Scharf at nscharf@ or on X at @nadiaascharf. This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Federal civil rights investigation launched into Green Bay Schools
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dept. of Education opens Title IX investigation into Western Carolina Univ.
(WSPA) – The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has opened a Title IX investigation into Western Carolina University. The Department of Education announced the investigation Thursday, claiming that WCU has 'refused to comply with Title IX and to ensure sex-separated intimate spaces in federally funded institutions of higher education.' The department said that it received credible reports that WCU 'allowed a male to room with a female in a girls' dormitory' and that WCU 'opened an investigation against a female student for asking a male student to leave a female locker room.' The Department of Education cited a former student who said that the students involved in both incidents identified as transgender women. 'WCU's reported contempt for federal antidiscrimination laws and indifference to, and retaliation against, girls who have spoken up about males invading their intimate spaces is simply unacceptable,' said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights. When reached for comment, a Western Carolina University acknowledged receiving notice of the investigation from the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. 'We believe that our campus policies and procedures are compliant with Title IX and all other federal and state laws,' the university said in a statement. 'We will work with OCR to fully resolve this complaint.' Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits, with some exceptions, discrimination on the basis of sex involving any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Where K-12 schools get the most federal revenue
U.S. K-12 public school systems got nearly $360 in federal revenue per person in fiscal 2023, per new census data. Why it matters: Federal funding for local school districts is on shaky ground as the Trump administration looks to cut spending broadly and to use the power of the purse to influence school curriculum and other decisions. Zoom in: School systems in Alaska ($846), North Dakota ($519) and Mississippi ($502) received the most revenue from federal sources per person in fiscal 2023. Utah ($220), Maine ($230) and New Hampshire ($234) received the least. The big picture: The U.S. Department of Education sent letters last month to state K-12 agencies requiring them to comply with the Trump administration's anti-DEI policies in order to maintain their federal funding. "When state education commissioners accept federal funds, they agree to abide by federal antidiscrimination requirements," Craig Trainor, the department's acting assistant secretary for civil rights, wrote at the time. "Unfortunately, we have seen too many schools flout or outright violate these obligations, including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another based on identity characteristics." The latest: Multiple lawsuits have been filed over the administration's demands, as the New York Times reports.
Newsweek
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Donald Trump Targets Chicago's 'Black Student Success Plan': 'Pernicious'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Department of Education has announced it is investigating whether a Chicago Public Schools program designed to improve outcomes for Black students violates antidiscrimination laws. According to a press release, the investigation comes in response to a complaint alleging the district's "Black Student Success Plan" violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act because it is designed to help only Black students even though students of all races struggle academically. Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement that the Trump administration "will not allow federal funds, provided for the benefit of all students, to be used in this pernicious and unlawful manner." A sign is displayed on the front of the headquarters for Chicago Public Schools on January 05, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. A sign is displayed on the front of the headquarters for Chicago Public Schools on January 05, 2022 in Chicago, It Matters President Donald Trump's administration has sought to crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in schools and colleges across the country. In a February memo, the Department of Education directed schools and universities to eliminate race from any decision-making around hiring, admissions, housing, financial aid and student life, warning that institutions that fail to comply face investigation and could lose access to federal money. Dozens of universities are being investigated, and the Trump administration has frozen billions of dollars of funding for Harvard for refusing to comply with the government's demands. What To Know Chicago Public Schools unveiled its "Black Student Success Plan" in February. It aims to increase the number of Black teachers, reduce disciplinary actions for Black students and "enhance a strong sense of belonging" among Black students among other goals over five years. CPS Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova said in February that the district was "committed" to removing obstacles for Black students, who account for a third of the school district's population. The plan prompted a complaint from Defending Education, a conservative advocacy group that says it aims to "restore schools at all levels from activists imposing harmful agendas," to the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. The complaint, which was sent to the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights in February, says the school district developed the plan after convening working group meetings that included senior district leaders between December 2023 and April 2024. It said that a slideshow presentation during the kickoff meeting said the working group was charged with "a deep equity-focused planning process that will result in a comprehensive set of targeted recommendations aimed at determining the appropriate inputs that support closing outcome gaps for Black students in the district." But the presentation noted that students of other races are also struggling academically, the complaint said. One slide "highlights black non-Hispanic students' struggles with reading proficiency only 6 percent are mid or above grade level, 10 percent are early on grade level, 62 percent are one grade level below, and 21 percent are two grade levels below," the complaint said. "But the same graphic shows that Hispanic students face even greater difficulties: 5 percent are mid or above grade level, 9 percent are early on grade level, 62 percent are one grade level below, and 24 percent are two grade levels below. In other words, CPS is failing students of all races and ethnicities, which makes this racially segregated program all the more egregious." Newsweek has contacted Chicago Public Schools for comment via email. What People Are Saying Trainor said in a statement: "Chicago Public Schools have a record of academic failure, leaving students from all backgrounds and races struggling and ill-prepared to meet the challenges and enjoy the rewards of contemporary American life. Rather than address its record honestly, CPS seeks to allocate additional resources to favored students on the basis of race." Trainor added: "The Trump-McMahon Department of Education will not allow federal funds, provided for the benefit of all students, to be used in this pernicious and unlawful manner. To CPS, I say this: Every American student deserves access to a quality education, and the Trump Administration will fight tirelessly to uphold that ideal and ensure all students are treated equally under law." Nicole Neily, the president and founder of Defending Education, said in a statement: "No student should be denied an educational opportunity because of the color of their skin, yet perversely, that's exactly what Chicago Public Schools has chosen to do – despite the fact that the district's own data clearly demonstrates that students of all races are struggling academically. "Amid abysmal proficiency rates, discipline crises, and a nearly $10 billion budget deficit, district leaders made a conscious decision to allocate finite resources to some students and not others – and we are grateful that the Department of Education has opened an investigation into this injustice." Chkoumbova said in a statement in February: "The District is committed to removing these obstacles and calls upon the community to support efforts to better serve Black students. Together, we can create an inclusive educational environment where all students have the opportunity to thrive." What's Next The Department of Education's investigation into Chicago Public Schools in ongoing. The department days violations of Title VI could result in the district losing federal funding.
