Trump cutbacks and policies: stripping minority student protections

We speak with Derek Black, Constitutional law professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, about the impact of Trump administration’s policies on students’ civil rights. Department of Education offices meant to ensure students are not subject to discrimination have been decimated. The Department of Justice has switched from protecting minority students' rights to focusing on so-called “discrimination" against whites and attacking transgender students. Professor Black also says the need for "circuit breakers" on executive power transcends this administration.

Overview

00:00-00:52 Intros

00:52:02:21 Threats to students’ protection from discrimination

02:21-03:53 Status of complaints to Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR)

03:53-05:30 Importance of access to OCR without an attorney

05:30-10:09 OCR procedures and remedies

10:09-13:55 Role Department of Justice is supposed to have in protecting students against discrimination; Trump Administration priorities

13:55-17:01 How the Administration’s approach is schizophrenic

17:01-23:10 Ethical quandaries facing district administrators

23:10-24:43 Supplementing not supplanting: What happens when the Department of Education is no longer monitoring

24:43-27:21 The uncertainty factor—who gets focused on

27:21-30:36 State Departments of Education: How they fit in

30:36-34:11 Theatrics at US Department of Education

34:11-38:00 Problems before the Trump Administration and what would be important afterwards

38:00-40:11 Some specifics of “circuit breakers” that could reduce executive power

40:11- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode.

References

Our first interview with Derek Black happened in 2021. Click here to listen to "The attack on public education: Will public schools survive?"

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear