Title IX is a federal civil rights law in the United States of America that was passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. This is Public Law No. 92‑318, 86 Stat. 235, codified at 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681–1688. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funding – including state and local educational agencies. These agencies include approximately 16,500 local school districts (K-12), 7,000 postsecondary institutions (most colleges and universities), as well as charter schools, for-profit schools, libraries, and museums. Also included are vocational rehabilitation agencies and education agencies of 50 states, the District of Columbia, and territories and possessions of the United States. 

Naaz Modan, K-12 Dive

The U.S. Department of Education released highly anticipated guidance on maintenance of equity requirements under the American Rescue Plan, the first of the three COVID-19 relief packages to formally prioritize it in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding. The provision ensures states and districts don't make excessive cuts to supplant funding rather than supplementing it, which would disproportionately impact underserved districts and make the additional federal funding essentially ineffective. Read more >>

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequities that have existed for years within the U.S. education system. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona joined Yahoo Finance to discuss how to address inequities among students and the current state of American education, teacher recruitment, and education funding. Read more >>

English learners, students with disabilities, students of color and students who identify as LGBTQ faced hardships to access and opportunities during the pandemic, while nearly all students have experienced mental health challenges, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Education. Read more >>

The Education Department has begun a long to rewrite Title IX campus sexual misconduct rules with a week-long hearing that stands to dismantle the Trump administration's regulating on the landmark sex discrimination civil rights law and to potentially expand its scope. "Students deserve to feel safe from sex discrimination in all learning environments," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement Monday. "These Title IX hearings are an important step in the right direction and an opportunity for us to get your input on this important topic." Read more >>

President Joe Biden is on his way to making good on his campaign promise to put a “quick end” to the Title IX rule implemented by Trump-era Education Secretary Betsy DeVos last summer. Read more >>

The Biden administration has notified Congress that it needs more time to implement a bipartisan law overhauling how students apply for federal financial aid, citing challenges with decades-old technology at the Education Department. Read more >>

Advocacy groups are calling on the Education Department (ED) to forgive $8 billion in student debt held by nearly 518,000 borrowers who are totally and permanently disabled. The groups sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Friday morning, stating that the department's existing regulations "unnecessarily prevent qualifying borrowers from accessing and maintaining loan cancellation." Read more >>

Certain critics of student loan forgiveness have argued that the policy would largely benefit the relatively well-off, pointing out that college degrees lead to higher earnings. However, new research finds that the biggest benefits of cancelling student debt would go to those with the least wealth, and Black families in particular. Read more >>

President Joe Biden’s recent meeting with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito on infrastructure comes at what Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg calls an approaching “fish-or-cut-bait moment” in negotiations with Senate Republicans. Read more >>

The Paycheck Fairness Act would require employers to demonstrate that any gap in pay between a man and a woman was due to job performance rather than gender. Senate Republicans successfully blocked Democrats’ bill to narrow the gender wage gap Tuesday in the party’s second use of the filibuster to block majority-backed legislation. The Paycheck Fairness Act would require employers to demonstrate that any gap in pay between a man and a woman was due to job performance rather than gender. Read more >>

The Senate passed a sweeping proposal that would provide more than $200 billion to aid American manufacturing, technology, research and development, in an effort to quell China’s growing economic influence worldwide. As we reported last week, an amendment introduced by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) that would expand Pell Grants to short-term CTE programs was accepted into a larger package of amendments that was closely negotiated between party leadership. The goal was to have them included into the larger manager’s amendment offered by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), by making a simple unanimous consent (UC) procedural request, then passing everything in the final bill. Unfortunately, the package that included the short-term Pell amendment was defeated when Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) objected to the UC request offered by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and the bill moved on to final passage without the amendment package. Read more >>

Executive Session, Senate Nominations

Wednesday, June 16, 2021, These hearings will NOT be webcast.

Thursday, June 17, 2021, 10:00 am, Live Stream here

Wednesday, June 16, 2021, 10:00 am, Live Stream here

 How much “academic freedom” do K-12 teachers actually have to teach what they want? How far does the First Amendment go in shielding them? And where would they stand in the face of new state laws taking aim at the use of critical race theory or the teaching of antiracist lessons. Measures introduced in at least 20 state legislatures to rein in teaching about race and other controversial and “divisive” topics have thrust teachers into uncertainty over what they can discuss in the classroom and whether they would face discipline or other legal consequences if they overstep. Read more >>

Importance of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Academic, Education and Activist Studies

June 22, 2021, 6:00- 7:00 PM

The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis will host an online discussion on its Facebook page. This event is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to register for the event here.

CRT is invaluable in how it helps us understand, research, study and teach how race functions in the United States and across the globe. However, much of this has come under attack as opponents of CRT charge that it divides Americans and promotes a distorted view of American history through a racial and ideological lens. In response to these attacks on CRT, the panelists will address those concerns and help unpack what CRT is and why it has been and continues to be an essential tool in addressing our racist past and present.

Join the Center for Law and Social Policy for a 60-minute webinar on Youth Mobile Response Services, a 24-hour service that supports young people undergoing mental health and social crises. During this discussion, we will evaluate the role of law enforcement and mental health systems in the United States and their relationships to racial justice--recognizing that for over a century, these systems have caused more harm than good.

Additionally, participants will learn how Youth Mobile Response Services do not need law enforcement to respond to mental health and social crises. We will provide federal, state, and local entities with principles for implementation, funding options, and federal recommendations to bolster equitable and effective Mobile Response Services across the country. This conversation will be led by youth, practitioners, and experts in the field. Register here.   

This webinar from GLSEN and The National Safe Learning Partnership will begin with an introduction to GLSEN’s recommendations on including and affirming LGBTQ+ students as part of broader efforts to promote equity and uphold civil rights protections. After this introduction, the webinar will move on to a fireside chat on nondiscrimination protections and LGBTQ+ student inclusion between Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, Interim Executive Director of GLSEN, and ODE Director Colt Gill. Under Director Gill’s leadership, Oregon has implemented some of the most LGBTQ+ youth affirming education policies in the country, and this wealth of experience will form the basis for an engaging and thoughtful discussion on how we build better K-12 learning communities. Register here.

NAPE Website | Material Use Policy | Terms of Use Policy