For Immediate Release From Center For Faith and Neighborhood Partnerships!
This week we are holding Jacksonville, FL in our hearts, following Saturday’s shooting, as yet another community grieves an act of hate-motivated gun violence. President Joseph R. Biden said on Sunday:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/s... "Yesterday in Jacksonville, Florida a white gunman went on a shooting rampage at a store near a Historically Black University and killed three Black individuals. While we still need to learn more about the motivation for Saturday’s shooting, law enforcement has opened a federal civil rights investigation and is treating this incident as a possible hate crime and act of domestic violent extremism.
Even as we continue searching for answers, we must say clearly and forcefully that white supremacy has no place in America. We must refuse to live in a country where Black families going to the store or Black students going to school live in fear of being gunned down because of the color of their skin. Hate must have no safe harbor. Silence is complicity and we must not remain silent.
Jill and I are praying for the victims and their families, and we grieve with the people of Jacksonville."
All of us deserve to feel safe in our communities, and every student and educator should feel safe at school or on campus. No one should live in fear because of who they are or what they look like. As students head back to school, we want you to know that we at the US Department of Education are doing everything we can to ensure all students have the ability to learn and grow and to pursue their dreams, no matter their race, place, or income.
To that end, we are sharing two critically important resources recently released by the Biden-Harris administration aimed at supporting PK-12 school communities and institutions of higher education in their efforts to be inclusive of students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. Please read below for more information.
Together,
Maggie Siddiqi, Director
U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Issues Resource on Race and School Programming.
On Thursday, August 24, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr... on Race and School Programming to guide schools on lawful programs to promote racially inclusive school communities. This resource clarifies the circumstances under which schools can – consistent with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its implementing regulations – develop curricula and programs or engage in activities that promote racially inclusive school communities.
This letter follows the release of a January 2023 OCR Diversity & Inclusion Activities Under Title VI fact sheet (https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/ocr-factsheet-tvi-dia-202301.pdf?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=) that confirmed for educators, parents, and students that diversity, equity, and inclusion training and similar activities generally are consistent with Title VI. If individuals within a school community have questions or would like technical assistance, they may contact the OCR office serving their state or territory by visiting
https://ocrcas.ed.gov/contact-ocr: https://ocrcas.ed.gov/contact-ocr?utm_cont... Justice and Education Departments Release Resources to Advance Diversity and Opportunity in Higher Education
Earlier this month, following the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advance diversity and opportunity in higher education, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division jointly released two resources to help colleges and universities understand the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina et al.
These resources will help colleges and universities as they work to lawfully pursue efforts to achieve a student body that is diverse across a range of factors, including race and ethnicity. They include a Dear Colleague Letter
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr... and a Questions and Answers resource
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr... to help colleges and universities understand the Court’s decision as they continue to pursue campuses that are racially diverse and that include students with a range of viewpoints, talents, backgrounds, and experiences.
In July, ED hosted the National Summit on Equal Opportunity in Higher Education
https://www.ed.gov/news/media-advisories/u... that brought together senior Biden-Harris Administration officials, student leaders, college and university administrators, and other stakeholders to discuss innovative strategies that enable colleges and universities to promote educational opportunity. In September, ED will produce a report elevating promising practices to build inclusive, diverse student bodies, including how colleges can give serious consideration to measures of adversity when selecting among qualified applicants.
More information on the work the Biden-Harris Administration is doing to continue building success for all students to thrive can be found here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/s...
Posted By: agnes levine
Wednesday, August 30th 2023 at 12:47PM
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