Deconstruction of the Administrative State? PRRAC responds: "How Attacks on the Administrative State Can Be Attacks on the Most Vulnerable" by Megan Haberle, in Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity.

 

Preserving the CRDC:  We submitted comments from a group of education scholars and advocacy organizations on the importance of preserving and continuing the Department of Education's "Civil Rights Data Collection" database, which records disparities in educational resources and outcomes by race, gender, and disability.  Responding to this kind of routine "paperwork reduction act" notice in the Federal Register wasn't usually necessary over the last 8 years....See our comments here.

 

Progress on inclusion in the Montgomery County Public Schools:  This new " Field Report" from the National Coalition on School Diversity tracks a DC-area county school system's progress in opening up its magnet and choice programs to be more representative of the county's student population.  

 

Save the date - National Coalition on School Diversity biennial conference is

 

 

Other News and Resources

 

A state AFFH bill in Connecticut:  The Open Communities Alliance (OCA) has developed an extraordinary legislative package to affirmatively further fair housing, expanding significantly on a 1991 AFFH state law that has been gradually chipped away over time.   S.B. 752, "An Act Concerning Housing Segregation," has some significant legislative support - and positive support from the state housing department!  See the OCA fact sheet here (which contains much of the bill language).  The proposed AFFH bill also builds on Connecticut's 1989 anti- exclusionary zoning law, and the state supreme court's 1996 school integration ruling.  This is a great model for other states to consider! (PRRAC's executive director is on the OCA board)
 

"Free to ride" wins best documentary in the DC Documentary Film Festival ! "Receiving this award validates the approach that we took to telling this story about an ever sensitive subject," said Matthew Martin, the Kirwan Institute producer of Free To Ride.  "We didn't want to make just another sensational film about race in America, but chose to allow the various perspectives in the community to come through in a way that makes everyday local politics come alive." Read more about the film here.

 

Deconstructing the Administrative State continued:  On February 24, the Trump Administration released the latest in a series of executive orders, entitled "Executive Order on Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda."  The order instructs agency heads to designate senior personnel for "Regulatory Reform Task Forces" that are charged with identifying regulations to cut or modify. The E.O. further provides that the Task Forces "shall seek input and other assistance" from outside entities in performing these evaluations. Despite the order's boilerplate caveat that all this activity will be "consistent with applicable law," it prescribes vague but ominous criteria that predictably conflict with numerous statutory mandates. It also seeks to implement the unconstitutional January 30th E.O. 13771 ("Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs," requiring the repeal of two regulations for each one issued).

 

Contrast the new Executive Order's preface that "It is the policy of the United States to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens placed on the American people" with the Obama Administration's 2011 Executive Order on "Principles of Regulation": "Our regulatory system must protect public health, welfare, safety, and our environment while promoting economic growth, innovation, competitiveness, and job creation. It must be based on the best available science. It must allow for public participation and an open exchange of ideas. It must promote predictability and reduce uncertainty," with consideration of "values that are difficult or impossible to quantify, including equity, human dignity, fairness, and distributive impacts."

 

 

P.S.

 

Please donate to PRRAC:   In this new political climate, we are by necessity spending more time interacting with Congress. We are not happy about this, but it is important. Your individual donations are needed for this work, since our foundation funds generally cannot be used for lobbying. You can donate here.