Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has issued the final version of a new rule governing how K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions must handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education. The new 2,033-page regulation increases privileges for students and faculty accused of assault and requires colleges […]
Universities Face Decision Between Medical Disaster and Financial Ruin This Fall
Amidst great economic and political pressure to reopen in the fall, American colleges and universities must choose between enormous risk and liability if they do open and bankruptcy if they do not. Colleges and universities are among the most vulnerable institutions to disease outbreaks and would serve as efficient grounds the spread of coronavirus as […]
Women in Academia Struggle in the Wake of COVID-19
Women seem to be submitting comparatively fewer papers for review to academic journals as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elizabeth Hannon, deputy editor of the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, noted a “negligible number of submissions to the journal from women in the last month.” Anna Watts remarked upon the makeup of […]
Students Have Fundamental Right to Literacy, Appeals Court Says
A federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that students in Detroit have a right to a “basic minimum education” ensuring literacy. Gary B., et al. v. Whitmer, et al. was filed by students on behalf of students in the Detroit Public Schools system. It argued that conditions in the schools had deprived them of a […]
Trump Administration Asks for Census Delay
The Trump administration has moved to delay deadlines for the 2020 United States Census due to concerns over COVID-19. The changes, requested by Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, would delay the deadline for delivering state population counts for apportionment from December 2020 to April 2021 and for giving states […]
Democrats and Civil Rights Groups Demand Delay of New Title IX Rule
The Education Department’s new proposed Title IX rules have already been cleared by the White House and are scheduled to be implemented in the coming weeks. Three senators signed on to a letter—along with multiple civil rights’ and human rights’ organizations—calling for the delay of these rules until the COVID-19 crisis is under control. The […]
California Special Needs Students Left Behind Amidst COVID-19 Education Changes
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act guarantees disabled students access to equal, high-quality, and free public education. However, as California nears its third week of physical school closures amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, special needs students are being left behind in the struggle to navigate the uncharted territory of distance learning. Approximately 800,000 California students receive […]
Education Department Sanctions Penn State Again for Sexual Misconduct Procedures
On Thursday, the Department of Education announced that after a recent investigation, it is ordering Pennsylvania State University to implement significant changes to the way the school handles complaints of sexual misconduct. The released investigation finds that the university persistently mishandled cases after the Sandusky scandal. A federal investigation released Thursday identified “serious deficiencies” in […]
Trump Administration Proposes Rules Undermining Separation of Church and State Which Would Increase Sex Discrimination in Schools
February 18, 2020 marked the end of the 30-day public comment period on nine proposed federal rules loosening federal funding restrictions on religious social service providers and schools. The Department of Education’s (ED) proposed rule to implement religion-related executive orders received nearly 16,000 comments and would have broad negative impacts if enacted. The ED’s proposed […]
Rep. Maloney Announces the Smithsonian Women’s History Act
Today Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) introduced the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum Act, which has 293 cosponsors and is expected to go to the U.S. House floor for a vote tomorrow afternoon. This bill will establish a Smithsonian museum dedicated to women’s history on the National Mall. “We are […]
Chloe McKenzie Wants to Close the Wealth Gap for Black Women
In 2015, Chloe McKenzie, a former JP Morgan investor, launched Black Fem – an organization “dedicated to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty”. The racial wealth gap is still steadily widening, according to studies done by Prosperity Now and the Institute for Policy Studies. When asked about why she wanted to start Black Fem, Ms. […]
For Afghans the Drive for Education is Stronger than Ever
News from Afghanistan and about the Afghan people is often associated with violence in the western media, especially lately in the U.S. media. News of progress and success is rarely of any interest to the media or often taken with a grain of salt or dismissed as not enough to justify the investments made in […]
Survey: Growing Support for Women’s Education and Employment in Afghanistan
The Asia Foundation’s survey of 2019 shows a growing support for women’s education and their employment in Afghanistan. The survey released on Tuesday shows the progress made in the views of Afghans in regards to women’s rights and their position in public life. The approval and support for women’s education has continued to rise over […]
Virginia Women’s College Updates Transgender Student Policy
A private women’s college in Virginia announced Wednesday a new policy allowing students transitioning from female to male while at school to remain enrolled and earn their degree, marking an important change in student support. Under the new guidelines at Hollins University in Roanoke, enrolled students who transition from female to male will no longer […]
25,000 Teachers Strike in Chicago for Increased Resources in Public Schools
Chicago Public School teachers have gone on strike with a list of changes that they wish to see in the city’s education system, including reducing class sizes, tackling the increasing rates of homelessness among students, and hiring more nurses, social workers, and bilingual educators. More than 25,000 teachers and 300,000 students are out of the […]
Aisha Khurram Selected as Afghanistan’s 2019 Youth Representative to the United Nations
Aisha Khurram, a law student at Kabul University, has been selected as Afghanistan’s Youth Representative to the United Nations for 2019, joining a group of other young representatives from across the globe seeking to make their voices heard at the world governing body. Khurram — who was selected from among 80 candidates — is tasked […]
D.C. Dress Codes Disproportionately Affect Black Girls, Report Finds
A new report released on Wednesday by the National Women’s Law Center found that the racial breakdown of the student body in D.C. schools directly correlates with the strictness in dress code policy and that D.C. charter schools have twice the number of restrictions as that of public schools and suspend girls for dress code […]
Students Rally to Support CA Bill That Requires Colleges to Offer Abortion Services
Students rallied on Tuesday in Sacramento to support the passage of SB 24, or the College Student Right to Access Act, a bill that would require public universities to offer nonsurgical abortions at all student health centers. Last Friday the state Assembly Appropriations Committee voted for the bill, with 13 legislators in favor of the […]
Women Make up 25% of the Student Population at Afghanistan’s Higher Education Institutions
At Afghanistan’s higher education institutions, 25% of the student body population are women, including Tehmeena Painda, one of the highest achievers of the ‘Kankor’ University entrance examination- earning her a spot at Kabul Medical University. This is an amazing achievement for young women in Afghanistan, where girls were prohibited from going to school during the […]
Senate and House Introduction of the Gender Equity Education Act of 2019
In celebration of the 47th anniversary of Title IX, Senator Mazie Hirono and Representative Doris Matsui have introduced the Patsy T. Mink and Louise M. Slaughter Gender Equity in Education Act of 2019, S. 1964 and H.R. 3513. This 2019 version of the initial 2016 Gender Equity Education Act, (GEEA) honors former Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink (D-HI) […]
