Amna Nawaz:
The Trump administration has threatened to pull federal funding from K-12 schools and universities that consider race in any way.
The Education Department argues the Supreme Court’s ruling outlawing race and college admissions applies much more broadly, including — quote — “using race in decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects.”
The deadline for schools to comply is tomorrow. All of this is sparking confusion and legal challenges.
For a look now as part of our ongoing series Race Matters, I’m joined by Angel Perez, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and David Law, superintendent of the Minnetonka School District in Minnesota and the incoming president of the School Superintendents Association.
Welcome to you both, and thanks for being with us.
Angel, I want to start with you, because based on the guidance the administration has sent out, is it clear to you what compliance looks like? What does it mean to meet this deadline tomorrow?
Angel Perez, CEO, National Association for College Admission Counseling: Well, therein lies the challenge. It’s not clear.
The dear colleague letter was pretty evasive, and so colleges and universities have been really struggling, what does this mean? So, for example, maybe some of the things that they might consider is eliminating student clubs and organizations that are race-based. That might seem a little bit obvious.
But what’s not obvious, is diversity is embedded into everything on college campus. So, does that mean we can no longer have women’s centers? Does that mean we stop our disability services? Does that mean that Hillel organizations for Jewish students should not exist?
And so it’s incredibly confusing, and an incredible amount of anxiety is taking place right now.
