One thing is clear: Federal and local decisions continue to be made without the voices of teachers who know students and classrooms best.

That鈥檚 why we, as part of a group of 17 public school teachers from across the country, did what the Trump administration and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon have not: We asked educators what they think. Through , we surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,000 public school teachers, with additional oversamples of 300 teachers of color and 300 Gen Z teachers, to understand their views on the future of education.

The message is clear: Teachers reject the Trump administration鈥檚 education agenda. Seventy percent oppose dismantling the Education Department, and only 29% feel optimistic about its impact on schools, with 51% expressing outright concern. There鈥檚 still time to change the trajectory of public education, but that window is closing. What we do next matters.

Of course, many of these challenges predate the current administration. Slow and steady declines in teacher satisfaction 鈥� only 19% recommending the profession to others 鈥�

make clear that public education鈥檚 challenges are deep and systemic. What gives us hope is that teachers have practical, powerful solutions that can transform the profession.

Teachers are optimistic about investments in high-quality instructional materials and professional development, especially in literacy and math. Eighty-five percent say their districts support implementation, a marked improvement from last year. Yet, with 81% still relying on material beyond the established curriculum, district and state leaders must sustain this momentum to address

Many educators we surveyed also support collaborative staffing models. Nearly three-quarters of teachers agree with approaches like co-teaching and team teaching to strengthen professional collaboration. Many also call for expanded use of support staff, such as tutors and paraprofessionals, to further address students鈥� needs. At a time when the profession continues to struggle with morale and retention, these alternative teaching models 鈥� which eschew the one-teacher, once-classroom model in place for centuries 鈥� offer a clear and promising pathway toward improved student outcomes.  

And while still new, the transformative power of AI in the classroom is quickly gaining traction. The number of teachers who believe AI can positively transform teaching and learning more than doubled in the past year, from 14% to 30%. Yet, only 48% report clear school AI policies, highlighting an urgent need for professional development. 

Viewed together, the results point to a broader, more meaningful takeaway: Teachers are ready for change and ready to lead that change. Whether it’s transforming the profession with high-quality instructional materials and aligned professional supports, innovations in staffing, or technology in the classroom, educators are embracing what works best for a modern classroom.

However, realizing the future that teachers envision requires leaders at every level to listen, starting at the top. It鈥檚 time leaders like President Trump and Secretary McMahon listen to educators and start giving them a seat at the table when decisions are made about their classrooms. Teaching in 2025 may be a paradox, but one thing is certain: when educators are heard, we can reimagine education, not dismantle it. 

The authors are part of the National Teacher Leader Council, a two-year cohort of 17 teachers from across six local chapters of Educators for Excellence, a teacher advocacy organization that ensures educators have a leading voice in shaping policies.聽

The 12-11 vote fell along party lines, with the Republican chairman of the committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, calling McMahon 鈥渢he partner this committee needs to improve the nation’s education system.鈥�

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an Independent who is the committee鈥檚 ranking member, said he liked McMahon personally. 鈥淚 respect the work she has done in building a large and successful business.鈥� But he said no matter who the education secretary is, 鈥渉e or she will not have the power鈥� to make consequential decisions. A small group of people in The White House, he said, will be 鈥渃alling the shots.鈥�

Sanders was referring to massive cuts at the department by auditors deputized by billionaire Elon Musk鈥檚 Department of Government Efficiency.

Along with other Democrats, Sanders criticized White House plans to dismantle the U.S. Education Department, which he said 鈥減rovides vital resources for 26 million kids who live in high-poverty school districts. These are the kids who most need our help.鈥�

During her confirmation hearing last week, McMahon said she supported dismantling the department, but admitted that the administration needs congressional support to do it. 

鈥淲e鈥檇 like to do this right,鈥� she told the committee. 鈥淲e鈥檇 like to make sure that we are presenting a plan that I think our senators could get on board with.鈥�

Sanders on Thursday said that was misguided. 鈥淚s it a perfect entity?鈥� he said. 鈥淣o. Is it bureaucratic? Yes. Can we reform it? Yes. Should we abolish it? No.鈥�

Likewise, Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, said he鈥檇 vote no on McMahon鈥檚 nomination for that reason. 鈥淚 can’t vote for somebody who will willfully engage in the destruction of the very agency she wants to lead. That is disqualifying.鈥�

McMahon鈥檚 nomination proceeds as the administration sends decidedly mixed signals on its education agenda. President Trump has nominated two experienced, well-regarded educators 鈥� North Dakota state Superintendent Kirsten Baesler and former Tennessee education chief Penny Schwinn 鈥� as top lieutenants to McMahon, even as Elon Musk鈥檚 Department of Government Efficiency decimates the department鈥檚 research arm, slashing millions of dollars in contracts in search of waste, fraud and abuse. At a press conference last week, Trump called the department 鈥渁 con job.鈥� 

McMahon, for her part, has said she supports DOGE鈥檚 work, saying, 鈥淚t is worthwhile to take a look at the programs before money goes out the door.鈥� 

While she鈥檚 expected to easily earn confirmation in the Republican-controlled Senate, with support among conservative groups, McMahon faces opposition from education and civil rights groups that more broadly oppose the White House education cuts. 

The conservative group last week said Trump was smart to nominate McMahon to lead the department 鈥渋n what we hope is a short tenure鈥� as she works to shutter it.

Conservative commentator Rick Hess McMahon鈥檚 WWE experience gives her the right background for the top job: 鈥淐onsidering that it鈥檚 an agency that鈥檚 long been plagued by low morale and accused of being too chummy with the unions and the college cartel,鈥� he wrote, 鈥渢here鈥檚 a strong case that what鈥檚 needed is an outsider with a strong managerial track record.鈥�

By contrast, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights on Wednesday urged lawmakers to reject her nomination, saying in a co-signed by more than 240 groups that she鈥檚 鈥渦nprepared and unqualified鈥� to lead the agency. Her confirmation would be 鈥渄isastrous for students, their families, and educators,鈥� the group said. 

Worth more than $3 billion

One of 13 billionaires tapped to lead Trump鈥檚 administration, McMahon has held tightly to Trump鈥檚 key education priorities: advancing private school choice, preventing trans students from competing in sports consistent with their gender identity and fighting antisemitism. 

McMahon鈥檚 confirmation has taken longer to schedule than those of most other cabinet nominees as the education committee waited for her to complete ethics paperwork detailing vast financial assets and ties to far-right organizations. Her net worth totals more than $3 billion.

As a board member of Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs the president鈥檚 Truth Social platform, she earns $18,400 quarterly. Politico reported that she also received stock in the company worth more than $800,000 in late January. McMahon is also on the advisory council for the Daily Caller, a conservative media outlet that has given her favorable coverage. 

If confirmed, McMahon has promised to step down from her board positions, forfeit any shares in Truth Social that she doesn鈥檛 yet fully own and divest from those that she does within three months. She also earns interest income from education-related municipal bonds that fund school construction across the country and has pledged to divest from those as well.

A vote before the full Senate has yet to be scheduled.

When Donald Trump told Elon Musk one of his first acts as president would be to 鈥渃lose the Department of Education, move education back to the states,鈥� he was invoking a GOP promise that goes back to President Ronald Reagan and the department鈥檚 founding.

Yet through multiple Republican administrations, including Trump鈥檚 first term, the U.S. Department of Education has persisted.

That hasn鈥檛 stopped Democrats from sounding the alarm that Trump鈥檚 views epitomize the GOP鈥檚 bad intentions for public schools. The fact that the Republican Party鈥檚 platform , as does the , has only .

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鈥淲e are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools,鈥� Vice President Kamala Harris said to thunderous applause in her speech at the Democratic National Convention, where she placed the department alongside prized institutions and programs like Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act.

The department has become a 鈥渒ind of trophy鈥� in a larger debate about the meaning of public education, said Rick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.

In fact, he said, 鈥淭he Department of Education actually has very little to do with that debate. Abolishing it doesn鈥檛 advance school choice and keeping it doesn鈥檛 do much for traditional district schools. But it鈥檚 become a symbol of which side you鈥檙e on in that debate.鈥�

So, what exactly does the U.S. Department of Education do? Why do so many conservatives want to see it go away? Why has it survived? And what would it take for that to actually happen?

The U.S. Department of Education: a brief history

The federal government spent money on education and developed education policies . But the U.S. Department of Education didn鈥檛 become a stand-alone agency until 1980, when it split off from the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

President Jimmy Carter advocated for the creation of the department to fulfill a campaign promise to the National Education Association. Congress passed the Department of Education Organization Act in 1979. Some Democrats and the American Federation of Teachers opposed the idea, due to fears about and concerns that it would cater to the NEA鈥檚 interests.

Reagan, Carter鈥檚 successor, campaigned on abolishing the brand-new department. But Reagan鈥檚 first education secretary, Terrel Bell, commissioned the landmark report 鈥淎 Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform,鈥� warning that America was losing its competitive edge. It advocated for a strong federal role to ensure students received a high-quality education.

鈥淚f the federal government is coming out with a report that shows all the things that need to be fixed and at the same time, we鈥檙e backing out of it, those are not compatible positions,鈥� said Michael Feuer, dean of George Washington University鈥檚 Graduate School of Education and Human Development.

The U.S. Department of Education does a lot of things, and . Its biggest K-12 programs by dollar amount . Some of its most high-profile and controversial work involves enforcing civil rights protections. The department also plays a major role in distributing financial aid for higher education.

The department is . Before the infusion of pandemic relief dollars, the federal government only covered about 8% of K-12 educational costs. In recent years, it鈥檚 been closer to 11%. But isn鈥檛 necessarily easy.

Why do conservatives want to end the Department of Education?

Some of the dislike is purely ideological.

For conservatives, less government is better. Education is not mentioned directly in the U.S. Constitution. And a new department overseeing functions that remain mostly the purview of local government is low-hanging fruit.

Under Democratic administrations, the department has also sided with more progressive approaches to education and to civil rights enforcement.

The Obama administration, for example, told schools that if they suspended or expelled Black students at much higher rates than other groups, that could be a sign they were . Critics said the rules pushed schools to adopt laxer disciplinary policies that made schools less safe. . (The Biden administration has not reinstated them.)

More recently, the Biden administration issued Title IX rules that provide greater and more explicit protections for LGBTQ students 鈥� .

Jonathan Butcher, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said states have been a source of innovation, like charter schools and educational savings accounts. The federal department not only distracts states from efforts to improve education but creates unnecessary bureaucracy.

All the while, achievement gaps based on race and poverty haven鈥檛 gone away, Butcher noted, though .

鈥淲e have ample evidence that it is not serving its purpose,鈥� Butcher said of the department. Abolishing it, he added, is 鈥渃onsistent with both the interest in smaller government and the interest in doing what鈥檚 right for kids.鈥�

What does Trump say about abolishing the Department of Education?

In his , the social media platform previously known as Twitter, Trump said the U.S. had a 鈥渉orrible鈥� education ranking at the bottom of developed countries while spending the most.

It鈥檚 not totally clear what sources Trump was using. On , the U.S. ranked sixth in reading, 10th in science, and 26th in math among 81 countries. show , especially . The U.S. does spend , including many that score better on key measures.

Trump said some states won鈥檛 do well, but many would do a better job on their own while spending less money.

鈥淥f the 50, I would bet that 35 would do great, and 15 of them or 20 of them would be as good as Norway,鈥� Trump told Musk. 鈥淵ou know Norway is considered great.鈥�

He said the federal government could provide 鈥渁 little monitor. You want to make sure they are teaching English, as an example. Give us a little English, right?鈥�

Trump鈥檚 campaign did not respond to a request to elaborate on the candidate鈥檚 plans.

How would abolishing the Department of Education work?

Abolishing a federal department would require an act of Congress, just as creating one does. It likely would also , which the idea doesn鈥檛 have.

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, has to abolish the department 鈥� but the bill has failed to gain traction.

Despite that, Massie said his proposals were serious. 鈥淒amn right I want to terminate the Department of Education,鈥� he said in a statement. 鈥淧ublic education in America has gone downhill ever since this bureaucracy was created.鈥�

The Heritage Foundation鈥檚 Project 2025, widely seen as a blueprint for a future Trump administration 鈥� 鈥� lays out a much more detailed plan that considers necessary steps from Congress and the executive branch.

For example, the plan says civil rights enforcement should move to the Department of Justice, educational data collection to the U.S. Census Bureau, and support for Native American students to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Butcher acknowledged that BIA schools don鈥檛 have a good track record. But he argued that the agency was better positioned to work on improving educational outcomes.

Meanwhile, Project 2025 says Title I funding for high-poverty schools should be turned into vouchers and then phased out over time, while money from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act should be given directly to parents.

On a podcast earlier this year, Lindsey Burke, the Heritage Foundation鈥檚 director of the Center for Education Policy and author of Project 2025鈥檚 education chapter, of simply abolishing the department.

But she said the executive branch could take certain actions on its own, such as ending student loan forgiveness programs and not enforcing the new Title IX rules.

Ending the Education Department now 鈥榩art of the conversation鈥�

Hess, of the American Enterprise Institute, said he doesn鈥檛 oppose eliminating the department, but the idea has become a kind of 鈥渂oogie man or quick fix鈥� that鈥檚 become a on the federal role in education.

鈥淪o much of the culture war that reached a boil during the pandemic focused on schools and colleges, which made the department more contested terrain and made education more contested terrain,鈥� he said.

He鈥檚 skeptical that a future Trump administration would get any closer to eliminating the department than the first one did. And a could make it even harder to make dramatic changes via executive order, Hess said.

Feuer, of George Washington University, thinks the department has made positive contributions, despite some flaws, and wants to see it stick around. An unfriendly administration could dramatically cut funding or eliminate programs without eliminating the department. That鈥檚 the wrong debate to have when , he said.

鈥淚f we now take this really important moment and get everyone fighting about maintaining the department, instead of keeping our eyes on the kids and the teachers and doing some good work, that would be a really unfortunate distraction,鈥� he said.

Butcher acknowledged that it鈥檚 鈥渁 big, ambitious idea,鈥� but said it鈥檚 also a serious one. Past efforts, he said, lacked willpower and an advocate who prioritized it.

He was encouraged when every candidate in Republican presidential primary debates last year (except Trump, who did not participate) said they .

鈥淲e have made it a part of the conversation,鈥� Butcher said.

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鈥嬧�嬧�淒uring my time in school I noticed that some of the Black girls would get in trouble for dress code even though their peers of a different body shape would not get in trouble for wearing the same thing.鈥�

鈥淔rom being in school, it always seemed to me that Black girls were always the ones who got disciplined. Not saying White girls never got disciplined, but maybe they were given a little more wiggle room for error unlike the other Black girls.鈥�

These were some of the observations young women shared with the researchers of a new U.S. Government Accountability Office , which found that Black girls in public schools face more and harsher forms of discipline when compared to other girls. While it’s long been known that Black female students are disproportionately punished in school, the GAO report determined that removals from class were happening to Black girls for similar behaviors as white girls and in the same schools. This points to the disparity being more about how Black girls are treated in school than how they act.

鈥淭his damning new report affirms what we鈥檝e known all along 鈥� that Black girls continue to face a crisis of criminalization in our schools,鈥� U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley said at a press conference last month unveiling the findings. 鈥淎nd the report provides powerful new data to push back on the harmful narrative that Black girls are disciplined more because they misbehave more.鈥�

Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat, is hoping the GAO report that she commissioned with House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and fellow congresswoman Rosa DeLauro can drive a legislative remedy to end racial disparities in the disciplining of Black girls. She told the that she realizes the a bill she re-introduced in April, stands little chance while Republicans control the House, but that states can take the findings and move on their own to address the inequity. 

While Black girls represented 15% of all girls in public schools, they received almost half of all suspensions and expulsions during the 2017-18 school year, including 45% of out-of-school suspensions, 37% of in-school suspensions and 43% of expulsions. 

Black girls received exclusionary discipline at rates 3 to 5.2 times that of white girls. This pattern held true in every state and most drastically in the District of Columbia, where the out-of-school suspension rate for Black girls was 20.5 times the rate for white girls. These disparities were felt even more harshly by Black girls with disabilities, who were more likely to be removed from school than both Black girls without disabilities and white girls who were also disabled. 

Exclusionary discipline can result in both short- and long-term negative outcomes for students, according to the report, not only disciplinary outcomes but also the preceding behaviors.

While previous GAO work demonstrated racial disparities in K-12 discipline, a dearth in data meant that researchers couldn鈥檛 establish whether that inequity remained across similar behaviors. This time, though, researchers were able to use an additional national data set 鈥� the School-Wide Information System 鈥� which tracks infractions and associated discipline across 5,356 schools in 48 states alongside U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Data. 

This filled a 鈥渂ig gap in the research,鈥� according to Jackie Nowicki, the report鈥檚 lead researcher and a director on the GAO鈥檚 Education, Workforce, and Income Security team. 鈥淭hat was huge for us,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ecause 鈥� as far as we know 鈥� that kind of research has never been done before.鈥�

Nowicki said she hopes people will understand the results are, 鈥渘ot an opinion. It鈥檚 not a hypothesis. This is serious, robust, objective, non-partisan analysis from nationwide data.鈥�

The report also included an analysis of 26 empirical studies, data from the National Crime Victimization Survey and 31 responses to an anonymous questionnaire circulated to women ages 18-24 this year by the national organization,

Through this work, researchers identified multiple forms of bias that contributed to discipline disparities, including colorism and adultification, a form of racial prejudice in which kids of color are perceived as older, less innocent and more threatening. One study included in their review found that Black girls with the darkest skin tone were twice as likely to be suspended as white girls, which didn鈥檛 hold true for Black girls with lighter skin complexions.

Researchers also found that Black girls reported feeling less safe at and connected to their schools than their peers, factors which can impact both attendance and academic performance.

Amid a mental health crisis that is harming young girls in particular, 鈥渢his is a really important piece of that overarching picture about how girls see themselves, how they experience the world, and what they take with them into their [adult] lives after they’ve left K-12 school settings,鈥� Nowicki said.

To combat these issues, Pressley鈥檚 legislation would provide grants to states and schools that commit to banning discriminatory discipline practices, work to strengthen the Education Department鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights and establish a federal task force to study and eliminate these practices. 

Rohini Singh, director of the School Justice Project at Advocates for Children of New York, said she is optimistic that with increased awareness from reports such as this one, those on the ground, like school deans or administrators, will 鈥渃heck themselves鈥� before doling out consequences.

The report will also be helpful in implementing solutions, she said. Often in New York she hears debates about how to keep schools safe: 鈥淲hat that means for a lot of people is more police in schools, more discipline, more suspensions. It’s becoming clearer through reports like this 鈥� and data that we have 鈥� that that’s not necessarily the case 鈥� oftentimes students can feel less safe because they can be targeted.鈥�

Nowicki shares Pressley鈥檚 skepticism that the necessary action will happen at the federal level and her hope that the report can drive reforms locally.

鈥淭he kind of change that needs to happen here is going to happen school by school, building by building, individual by individual, by people who realize that this is a systemic issue shown in the data, and that we all can be part of this solution if we choose to be.鈥�

In a federal court motion filed Nov. 14 that cited 蜜桃影视鈥檚 exclusive reporting, attorney Andrew Brenner described the disclosure as 鈥渁t best, careless,鈥� particularly after the former student won a legal battle against the district for her right to remain anonymous. Brenner asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to compel Fairfax to explain how her name ended up in documents released as part of a records request that had nothing to do with her case.

A hearing on the motion is set for Dec. 15.

Known as B.R., the woman is as well as the former students she alleges sexually assaulted her in 2011, with a trial set to begin in March. The motion asks for the names of all district employees involved in producing the materials that identified her as well as the district鈥檚 steps 鈥渢o collect, review, compile and transmit the documents鈥� prior to their release.

The district鈥檚 response to the motion could provide insight into how unredacted records on tens of thousands of students were released to a parent and special education advocate. The documents included sensitive, confidential information such as grades, disability status and mental health conditions.

Following 蜜桃影视鈥檚 report, the district apologized and launched an investigation. A firm with expertise in cybersecurity 鈥� 鈥� is handling the probe, but some parents with children named in the disclosure said so far, no one has contacted them. Superintendent Michelle Reid said in she will share a summary of the investigation once it鈥檚 complete.

Callie Oettinger, the parent who received the records, went to her local high school in mid-October to examine what she thought were records pertaining to her own two children. Her son, who received special education services in the district, has since graduated, and her daughter is still in high school. She copied computer files onto thumb drives as a paralegal observed and helped her identify some of the records. 

While most of the documents set aside for her review included her children鈥檚 names, they also revealed information on what she estimates were at least 35,000 other students. B.R.鈥檚 full name was listed in a document labeled 鈥渁ttorney work product鈥� and marked 鈥減rivileged and confidential,鈥� as well as in an email to board members about litigation to discuss in a 2020 closed meeting.

The records also identified another former student with a separate Title IX case against the district. In reached last year, the district agreed to always redact the student鈥檚 real name from any copy of the document and only use a pseudonym when referring to the case. Her attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.

The day after issuing its apology, the district sent Oettinger a strongly worded email demanding that she 鈥渞eturn all files removed, including any and all physical media used for unauthorized extraction of information from FCPS.鈥� The letter referred to the documents as 鈥渨rongfully retained information.鈥�

To her attorney, the language suggested Oettinger was at fault. 

鈥淪he’s done nothing illegal, and they have no legal right to compel her to do anything,鈥� said Timothy Sandefur, vice president for legal affairs at the Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix-based libertarian think tank. Oettinger posted redacted documents from the recent trove on she runs on special education issues. 鈥淚f they want assurance that she is not going to publish any kind of confidential information about kids, she absolutely will not publish confidential information about children. She has assured everybody of that already.鈥�

Oettinger sent the thumb drives to Sandefur, who has since communicated with attorneys conducting the district鈥檚 investigation. But he declined to provide an update on the district鈥檚 progress. The attorneys conducting the investigation also didn鈥檛 respond to requests for comment.

A need for 鈥榬obust action鈥�

Oettinger didn鈥檛 initially alert the district to the disclosure because, she said, it has failed to make improvements after previous privacy violations. In fact, on Oct. 19 鈥� the third and final day that Oettinger reviewed files in person 鈥� the Virginia Department of Education responded to one of her earlier complaints, finding the Fairfax district out of compliance with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA.

The decision only pertained to her son and was not a statement about the district鈥檚 overall privacy record.

Patricia Haymes, who directs the state agency鈥檚 Office of Dispute Resolution and Administrative Services, noted that officials have had 鈥渙ngoing concerns鈥� regarding student confidentiality in Fairfax and 鈥渂elieved that there was a need for the school division to take more robust action to ensure sustainable compliance.鈥� But she also said the district assured her in September that it was taking steps 鈥渞egarding the confidentiality of and access to student records.鈥�

In that Sept. 27 letter, the district said it was training staff on their obligations under FERPA and the Freedom of Information Act, and was planning a 鈥渕andatory training鈥� for principals and other administrators in charge of student records and special education. Training was scheduled to begin Oct. 31 and employees have two months to complete it. 

On. Nov. 8, Oettinger appealed the state鈥檚 decision, citing 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting on the accidental records release. Both the district and the state have 鈥渇ailed to ensure compliance 鈥� and now here we are,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淵ou have enough for [the district] to be found at fault for systemic noncompliance.鈥� 

The district disputes that it has violated the law. In a Nov. 21 response to Oettinger鈥檚 appeal, it described the disclosure as a 鈥渟ingle instance of what appears to be human error鈥� and said that Oettinger鈥檚 in-person review of the documents, which FERPA allows, was 鈥渙utside the typical electronic document production that FCPS employs.鈥�

Oettinger said she has faith in Reid, who became superintendent last year, to push for tighter security.  The two have exchanged emails and met in person multiple times. Oettinger said she鈥檚 鈥渃hoosing to believe Reid鈥檚 trying to change the district鈥檚 culture and that she knows me enough to know I’d never do anything nefarious.鈥�

Some special education experts in the state are baffled by the district鈥檚 mistake. 

鈥淚t’s just the norm that when you do a document production, you are careful about what you shouldn’t be disclosing 鈥� whether it’s other students鈥� names or legal advice,鈥� said Jim Wheaton, a William and Mary Law School professor who runs a legal clinic for future attorneys that plan to work on special education issues. 鈥淚t just blows my mind that they would be so reckless.鈥�

But he said that there鈥檚 not much parents can do about such violations. They can file complaints, but there鈥檚 no right to sue under FERPA.

鈥淚n religious terms,鈥� he said, 鈥渋t鈥檚, ‘Go forth and sin no more.’鈥�

But nearly a year after most of us came face-to-face with the first of these tools, a that few states are offering educators substantial guidance on how to best use AI, let alone fairly and with appropriate privacy protections.

As of mid-October, just two states, California and , offered official guidance to schools on using AI, according to the Center for Reinventing Public Education at Arizona State University. 

CRPE said 11 more states are developing guidance, but that another 21 states don鈥檛 plan to give schools guidelines on AI 鈥渋n the foreseeable future.鈥�

Seventeen states didn鈥檛 respond to CRPE鈥檚 survey and haven鈥檛 made official guidance publicly available.

As more schools experiment with AI, good policies and advice 鈥� or a lack thereof 鈥� will 鈥渄rive the ways adults make decisions in school,鈥� said Bree Dusseault, CRPE鈥檚 managing director. That will ripple out, dictating whether these new tools will be used properly and equitably.

鈥淲e’re not seeing a lot of movement in states getting ahead of this,鈥� she said. 

The reality in schools is that AI is here. Edtech companies are pitching products and schools are buying them, even if state officials are still trying to figure it all out. 

鈥淚t doesn’t surprise me,鈥� said Satya Nitta, CEO of , a generative AI company developing voice-activated assistants for teachers. 鈥淣ormally the technology is well ahead of regulators and lawmakers. So they’re probably scrambling to figure out what their standard should be.鈥�

Nitta said a lot of educators and officials this week are likely looking 鈥渧ery carefully鈥� at Monday鈥檚 on AI 鈥渢o figure out what next steps are.鈥� 

The order requires, among other things, that AI developers share safety test results with the U.S. government and develop standards that ensure AI systems are 鈥渟afe, secure, and trustworthy.鈥� 

It follows five months after the U.S. Department of Education released a detailed, with recommendations on using AI in education.

Deferring to districts

The fact that 13 states are at least in the process of helping schools figure out AI is significant. Last summer, no states offered such help, CRPE found. Officials in New York, , Rhode Island and Wyoming said decisions about many issues related to AI, such as academic integrity and blocking websites or tools, are made on the local level.

Still, researchers said, it鈥檚 significant that the majority of states still don鈥檛 plan AI-specific strategies or guidance in the 2023-24 school year.

There are a few promising developments: North Carolina will soon require high school graduates to pass a computer science course. In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin in September on AI careers. And Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in September to create a state governing board to guide use of generative AI, including developing training programs for state employees.

But educators need help understanding artificial intelligence, 鈥渨hile also trying to navigate its impact,鈥� said Tara Nattrass, managing director of innovation strategy at the International Society for Technology in Education. 鈥淪tates can ensure educators have accurate and relevant guidance related to the opportunities and risks of AI so that they are able to spend less time filtering information and more time focused on their primary mission: teaching and learning.鈥�

Beth Blumenstein, Oregon鈥檚 interim director of digital learning & well-rounded access, said AI is already being used in Oregon schools. And the state Department of Education has received requests from educators asking for support, guidance and professional development.

Generative AI is 鈥渁 powerful tool that can support education practices and provide services to students that can greatly benefit their learning,鈥� she said. 鈥淗owever, it is a highly complex tool that requires new learning, safety considerations, and human oversight.鈥�

Three big issues she hears about are cheating, plagiarism and data privacy, including how not to run afoul of Oregon鈥檚 Student Information Protection Act or the federal Children鈥檚 Online Privacy and Protection Act. 

鈥楴ow I have to do AI?鈥�

In August, CRPE conducted focus groups with 18 superintendents, principals and senior administrators in five states who said they were cautiously optimistic about AI鈥檚 potential, but many complained about navigating yet another new disruption.

鈥淲e just got through this COVID hybrid remote learning,鈥� one leader told researchers. 鈥淣ow I have to do AI?鈥�

Nitta, Merlyn Mind鈥檚 CEO, said that syncs with his experience.

鈥淏roadly, school districts are looking for some help, some guidance: 鈥楽hould we use ChatGPT? Should we not use it? Should we use AI? Is it private? Are they in violation of regulations?鈥� It’s a complex topic. It’s full of all kinds of mines and landmines.鈥� 

And the stakes are high, he said. No educator wants to appear in a newspaper story about her school using an AI chatbot that feeds inappropriate information to students. 

鈥淚 wouldn’t go so far as to say there’s a deer-caught-in-headlights moment here,鈥� Nitta said, 鈥渂ut there’s certainly a lot of concern. And I do believe it’s the responsibility of authorities, of responsible regulators, to step in and say, 鈥楬ere’s how to use AI safely and appropriately.鈥� 鈥澛�

She鈥檇 done it before, to fanfare and criticism. As the head of the Education Department鈥檚 civil rights division during the Obama administration, Lhamon wrote in 2014 that put districts nationwide on notice: stark racial gaps in suspension rates could indicate discrimination, and the federal Office for Civil Rights planned to hold them accountable to civil rights laws. The guidance led education leaders nationwide to reform their school discipline policies while conservative pundits and politicians accused the department of using the threat of investigations to force districts into creating 鈥渞acial quotas鈥� and coercing them to adopt school discipline reforms in place of suspensions and expulsions. 

At the hearing to consider her return to her post as the Education Department鈥檚 assistant secretary for civil rights and six months after President Joe Biden signed across the federal government, Lhamon said it was critical for the Biden administration to reinstate the discipline guidance, which the of mass school shootings. 

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 crucial to reinstate guidance on the topic and I think it鈥檚 crucial to be clear with school communities about what the civil rights obligations are and how best to do the work in their classrooms,鈥� Lhamon said during the confirmation hearing, where she was grilled by Republican lawmakers on a range of contentious issues, including efforts to combat campus sexual assault and the inclusion of transgender students in school athletics. Republicans leveraged the issues in a failed bid to block Lhamon鈥檚 nomination, and Vice President Kamala Harris cast a tie-breaking vote to confirm Lhamon for a second stint in the department.

Yet more than two years into Biden鈥檚 presidency, updated guidance on racial disparities in school discipline are nowhere to be found 鈥� and civil rights advocates have begun to wonder whether the department ever plans to release them. Rather than taking heat from Republicans, the inaction has generated outrage from the left. 

In , advocates with the Federal School Discipline and Climate Coalition demanded the department 鈥渋mmediately release a revised and updated version鈥� of the guidance and accused officials of failing 鈥渢o provide adequate accountability, oversight and enforcement of civil rights laws.鈥�

鈥淭he persistence of egregious exclusionary and disproportionate discipline throughout the nation must be laid directly at the feet of this administration鈥檚 unwillingness to lead in the area of school discipline and civil rights,鈥� according to the coalition, a group of racial justice activists and researchers who鈥檝e been advocating for police-free schools and non-punitive discipline policies since 2011. 鈥淚n many districts, the lack of leadership and guidance from [the Education Department] has weakened communities鈥� abilities to advocate for policies that reduce and eliminate exclusionary discipline.鈥�

In an interview with 蜜桃影视, a senior Education Department official declined to say whether updated guidance is in the works or to provide a timeline. But the department鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights, the official said, is currently investigating 343 cases related to racial discrimination in student discipline. The 2014 guidance outlined the department鈥檚 interpretation of federal civil rights rules and urged districts to adopt restorative justice and other discipline reforms, but the senior department official said the civil rights office has no difficulty enforcing federal discrimination rules aside from the challenges that come with taking on an 鈥渆normous caseload.鈥� 

In one case from last year, the Education Department came to a resolution agreement with the Victor Valley Union High School District in California after a federal investigation found the school system disciplined Black students more frequently and harshly than their white classmates. Along with 鈥渟tatistical evidence鈥� of racial disparities in student discipline, investigators observed a pattern where Black and white students were disciplined differently for committing similar infractions. Under the agreement, the district was required to revise its student discipline policies and implement a plan to eliminate disparities.

鈥淲e are as always grateful to school communities that effectively instruct all students without discrimination and we look forward to working with those school communities that need further assistance to comply with the law,鈥� Lhamon said in a written statement when asked by 蜜桃影视 about criticism that the department had failed to act. 

Faced with a record number of civil rights complaints, which are set to be outlined in an annual report later this month, the to allow a greater use of mediation to resolve cases more quickly. 

Even critics of the 2014 鈥淒ear Colleague鈥� letter are left wondering why the department hasn鈥檛 released an update to the student discipline guidance 鈥� particularly after officials suggested they were forthcoming. In June 2021, the Office for Civil Rights on strategies to implement school discipline in a nondiscriminatory manner. That callout led to more than 3,600 comments from people across the political spectrum. 

A year later, in July 2022, the Education Department released guidance that sought to address school discipline disparities between children with disabilities and those who are not enrolled in special education. Reporting at the time suggested that similar guidance, related to racial disparities in discipline, would be released later that summer. 

A political liability

That the guidance was never released, observers said, likely comes down to one factor: politics.

鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 take this much time, especially if they were going to largely dust off what was published in 2014,鈥� said Michael Petrilli, president of The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, who worked at the Education Department during the George W. Bush administration and has been an outspoken critic of school discipline reform. He said the Biden administration would be rightly concerned over the issue becoming a campaign platform for Republicans, who have already rallied supporters to condemn schools that teach about racism in American history or that allow transgender students to participate in school sports. 

鈥淭he only thing that makes sense to me is that somebody relatively senior, either at the Department of Education or in the White House, has decided that this is not a good time,鈥� Petrilli said. 鈥淓ither they decided not to do it, or they鈥檙e waiting until the time seems right 鈥� and it never seems like a good time with the news in the real world.鈥�

Biden entered office at a moment of heightened attention to persistent racial inequities. After a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020 and Black Lives Matter protests swept the country, dozens of districts removed school-based police officers from their campuses. But the issue was reminiscent of 鈥渄efund the police鈥� movement, and several school systems that banished cops from classrooms reversed course just months later. 

As pandemic-era remote learning came to an end and students returned to school buildings, educators sounded the alarm about an uptick in student misbehavior and disruptions. In a , more than 8 in 10 school leaders said the pandemic had a negative effect on students鈥� behavioral development. More than a third reported an uptick in physical attacks or fights between students, and more than half reported increased classroom disruptions due to student misconduct. 

A recent teachers union poll reached similar findings. Nearly 90% of teachers said that 鈥減oor student discipline and a lack of support for dealing with disruptive students鈥� is a serious problem, the American Federation of Teachers found. 

Lawmakers with state legislation that would make it easier for schools to punish students, including with bipartisan support that allows schools to 鈥減ermanently remove鈥� disruptive students. After a 6-year-old boy with a history of disturbing behavior shot his teacher in January at a Virginia elementary school, that school leaders had become too lenient with students. In response to the drumbeat of school shootings, districts have bolstered school security, including with armed police officers. 

鈥淵ou鈥檙e seeing states across the country passing these return-to-zero-tolerance and mass exclusion laws in several states, and I think that could have been avoided had the Biden administration been taking a strong stand throughout and reissuing the guidance,鈥� said Russ Skiba, professor emeritus at Indiana University whose research focuses on school discipline.

Yet it鈥檚 this exact movement toward harsher student punishment rules that make discipline reform efforts a politically fraught undertaking, Petrilli said. 

鈥淵ou can imagine somebody with a political perspective saying, 鈥榊ou know, is this really a good issue to run on when we鈥檙e getting clobbered on the defund the police stuff, on the crime issue?鈥欌�� Petrilli said. 鈥淚 would certainly think this would be dangerous for Democrats to be associated with a soft on discipline kind of approach in the same way it is dangerous for them to be associated with a soft on crime approach.鈥� 

Meanwhile, racial justice advocate Breon Wells called the administration鈥檚 failure to address the issue a political miscalculation and accused Biden of failing to act on the promises of his campaign, which .

鈥淭o us what it feels like is that they are choosing the politically comfortable way over the delivering of these promises to people and, more specifically, Black and brown students,鈥� said Wells, a member of the Federal School Discipline and Climate Coalition and the CEO and founder of The Daniel Initiative, a strategic communications firm. 鈥淭here is no convenient path to rectify the wrongs and the injustices that have prevailed and been baked into a system.鈥�

Persistent disparities

Nationally, stark racial disparities have persisted for years. For about as long, the factors that drive those disparities have been the subject of heated partisan debate. 

Black youth represented 15% of students nationwide during the 2017-18 school year but were the subject of 29% of law enforcement referrals, according to the most recent . Black youth also accounted for 38% of students who received one or more out of school suspensions and 33% of those who were expelled.

The 2014 guidance sought to close the gap. In a move that led to controversy, the department warned schools that discipline policies could constitute 鈥渦nlawful discrimination鈥� under federal civil rights law if they didn鈥檛 explicitly mention race but had a 鈥渄isproportionate and unjustified effect on students of a particular race,鈥� known as disparate impact. Such statistical evidence is a key indicator of potential violations, the letter noted, but civil rights investigators would review 鈥渁ll relevant circumstances鈥� before imposing sanctions. 

While the document acknowledged that racial disparities in student discipline rates may be 鈥渃aused by a range of factors,鈥� it said that the 鈥渟ubstantial racial disparities鈥� couldn鈥檛 be attributed entirely to 鈥渕ore frequent or more serious misbehavior by students of color.鈥�

A growing body of academic research has dug into the root causes of racial disparities in school discipline, including evidence that educators discipline Black students differently than their white classmates. in the peer-reviewed journal Social Forces, found that nearly half of the racial disparities in school discipline could be attributed to teachers treating Black and white students differently, suggesting that the 鈥渄ifference in punishment may be due to racial bias鈥� among educators. In fact, just 9% of the variations could be attributed to different behaviors between Black and white children, researchers found. , by the Education Research Alliance for New Orleans, found that Black and low-income students received longer suspensions than their white and better-off classmates for the same types of infractions. 

Meanwhile, a significant body of research suggests that suspensions, expulsions and school-based arrests , including lowered academic performance and an increased likelihood of dropping out. Yet research on alternatives promoted in the 2014 discipline guidance, including restorative justice, has found that even as suspensions have decreased, they鈥檝e generally . 

Petrilli has acknowledged that racial discrimination exists in school discipline but maintains that the harmful effects of suspensions and the influence of discriminatory bias in racial disparities is overblown, arguing that other factors, like poverty and the effects of growing up in a single-parent home, are key contributors. The 2014 guidance, he said, overstated the degree to which bias influenced the disparities. Any updated guidance from the Biden administration, Petrelli said, should remove threats of investigations based on a district鈥檚 racially disparate discipline data.

鈥淚f, after controlling for differences in socioeconomic status, for example, there鈥檚 still large disparities, that is a time that we would dig in and do an investigation,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat would be a middle ground.鈥�

Yet for members of the Federal School Discipline and Climate Coalition, guidance on racial disparities in school discipline is the lowest denominator in a larger need to overhaul the country鈥檚 approach to school safety and student discipline. But the administration has failed to take a strong position, the group argued, on several critical civil rights issues. 

In last month, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona urged local policymakers to 鈥渕ove swiftly toward condemning and eliminating鈥� corporal punishment in schools, which remains legal in 19 states. On the same day, it released that districts review their student discipline policies and ensure they 鈥渄o not unfairly disadvantage a group of students,鈥� including 鈥渦nclear language that results in disproportionate discipline of certain students.鈥�

But the corporal punishment guidance, the advocates argued, amounted to 鈥渃herry picking politically safe issues,鈥� and called Cardona鈥檚 letter 鈥渉alfhearted.鈥� The guiding principles document, the group said, was 鈥渨oefully inadequate鈥� and appeared to be thrown together last minute. 

Coalition convener Christopher Scott said it鈥檚 time for the administration and Education Department leaders to stop shying away from tough conversations about race.

鈥淭hey are failing to protect the civil rights of Black and brown students, youth and children because they don鈥檛 want to tackle the issue of race because it is taboo for them and is seen as not being politically efficient or leading to political wins,鈥� said Scott, a senior program manager at the Open Society Policy Center. 鈥淚t is not about what is going to keep you in office, it is about doing your job and protecting the civil rights of Black and brown students, youth and children. That鈥檚 why you exist.鈥� 

Those are among the steps he wants schools to take in order to 鈥渓evel up鈥� the education system after nearly two years of pandemic disruption and persistent achievement gaps.

鈥淎ll kids must be seen. All kids must hear their names in school every single day,鈥� he said, adding that schools鈥� 鈥渉ardest and most important work lies ahead.鈥�

A week after President Joe Biden tried to refocus the nation鈥檚 attention on his accomplishments, Cardona鈥檚 speech 鈥� held in person at the U.S. Department of Education 鈥� came as schools continue to grapple with short-term school closures from the Omicron outbreak and ongoing local debates over mask mandates and racial equity initiatives. Speaking for more than 20 minutes, Cardona offered something for everyone, calling out students by name in the audience, noting that his department has spoken to 8,000 parents over the past year and exhorting educators to 鈥渃ollectively lead our nation鈥檚 healing.鈥�

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 sign up to serve during a pandemic, but we did sign up to serve students,鈥� he said.

His efforts to inspire the nation鈥檚 district and school leaders, however, are running up against educator fatigue compounded by the latest COVID surge and the stalemate in Congress over President Joe Biden鈥檚 domestic policy agenda.

鈥淥ur school leaders continue to burn the candle at both ends,鈥� Ronn Nozoe, CEO of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, said in a statement, 鈥渁nd without immediate action to address their staffing shortages and concerns about teacher and student wellness and well-being, it will be extremely challenging to make sure these proposals actually provide the real support our communities need and deserve.鈥�

Speaking to reported increases in youth anxiety and depression, Cardona said all students should have access to a mental health professional and all high schools should have a career counselor. 

To implement the types of education and student support programs he described, Cardona noted that the department has all $122 billion from the American Rescue Plan to states. But a from Burbio, a data firm that tracks schools鈥� responses to the pandemic, showed that only about a third of districts were spending relief funds on tutoring. 

At the moment, education leaders are particularly worried about meeting a September 2024 deadline to obligate relief funds. Last week, more than 30 organizations for more time to spend funds on school construction projects. Meeting that deadline will be 鈥渘early impossible for most districts because limited contractor availability and supply chain disruptions are substantial and expected to get worse in 2022,鈥� the letter said.

Cardona said all young children should have access to universal preschool and referenced a need for additional funding for students with disabilities and low-income schools.

But that depends on Congress. The department has proposed spending increases for Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in the fiscal year 2022 budget. But to pass a budget or another continuing resolution is weeks away, and some experts doubt the administration will be able to get what it wants. President Joe Biden wants to include universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds in his Build Back Better plan, but that鈥檚 also been stalled in the Senate. The plan passed by the House in November also included funds for teacher and administrator preparation programs.

Focusing on one his priorities 鈥� college and career pathways 鈥� he said his department would work more closely with the departments of labor, commerce, and health and human services to 鈥渋nvest in underrepresented groups鈥� of students.

That pledge sounded promising to Marisol Quevedo Rerucha, chief of strategy and partnerships for the National Parents Union, a leading advocacy group that has been pushing the department to take a bolder approach to pandemic recovery.

鈥淭hat idea of those big government agencies working together to address comprehensive needs of families has a lot of potential,鈥� she said, but added that many of Cardona鈥檚 鈥渟ound-bitey statements鈥� about addressing students鈥� mental health needs and 鈥渞eimagining鈥� instruction left her flat.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been saying this in education for decades,鈥� she said, adding that charter and innovative public schools have been 鈥渢alking about this and doing the work.鈥�

Stephen Pruitt, president of the Southern Regional Education Board, which works with 16 states to improve education, wants Cardona to prioritize students鈥� preparation for the workforce by giving them access to college courses while they鈥檙e in high school.

鈥淲e estimate that 18 million southerners alone will be unemployable in the next few years without additional education and training,鈥� he said in an email. 鈥淭he workplace and our economy are changing fast. We鈥檙e only at the beginning of how automation and technology will impact most jobs.鈥�

鈥極n the back burner鈥�

Past secretaries have given similar addresses. During the Obama administration, former Secretary Arne Duncan gave back-to-school bus tour speeches in the fall. But COVID-19 and the push to pass the Build Back Better have likely caused Cardona to 鈥減ut this kind of engagement on the back burner,鈥� said Khalilah Harris, managing director of K-12 education policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress.

鈥淭he administration is rightfully pivoting to tell its story for any wins from last year and the ways they鈥檒l focus their energy looking ahead,鈥� she said. 鈥淭aking the offensive is the right way to engage directly with the American public 鈥� instead of having opponents lead a narrative that isn鈥檛 about expanding access to opportunity for all children.鈥�

For Rerucha, the fact that Cardona didn鈥檛 address the political divide over curriculum and teaching the history of racism was a glaring omission. While he talked about the 鈥渘ation鈥檚 healing,鈥� Rerucha said, 鈥渉e did not address what our nation needs to be healed from鈥� and why Black, Hispanic and other minority student groups are persistently behind.

The secretary’s speech also comes as the department is preparing to release discipline guidance that many expect to resemble Obama administration policies. The guidance would likely discourage suspension and expulsion, and increase oversight of districts when disproportionate numbers of students in any one racial group are excluded for disciplinary reasons.

Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, has urged the department to hold off, saying that the pandemic has only created more hardship for many students living in poverty and that schools are seeing the effects in increased behavior problems. 

鈥淭he problem is, nobody has come up with a sure-fire way to quickly reduce misbehavior and school violence that doesn鈥檛 involve removing disruptive students from classrooms and hallways,鈥� he wrote in a recent .

When former President Donald Trump secured the White House, a top priority was clear from the onset: Erase the legacy of foe and predecessor Barack Obama.

A newly sidelined Catherine Lhamon, who led the Education Department鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights during the Obama administration, refused to watch quietly. Just months into Trump鈥檚 term, a ProPublica investigation found the new administration and Lhamon, citing 鈥済rave concerns,鈥� launched .

鈥淚鈥檓 deeply worried about the kinds of discrimination that may be allowed to proliferate if there鈥檚 not an effective and meaningful civil rights backstop,鈥� Lhamon, who became chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, told 蜜桃影视 in 2017. The final Commission report of Trump鈥檚 civil rights record.

The Trump administration鈥檚 sharp turn in direction could be felt at the civil rights office, where Lhamon oversaw sweeping investigations into schools鈥� student discipline policies and questioned whether they were racially biased. The Trump administration, with just a few strokes of the pen, rolled back much of the Obama administration鈥檚 civil rights work in schools, including guidance that sought to combat the nation鈥檚 stark and persistent racial disparities in suspensions and expulsions. Trump administration efforts to narrow the focus of investigations, she said, were 鈥渄angerous.鈥�

Now it鈥檚 Lhamon鈥檚 turn to undo Trump鈥檚 legacy and restore the priorities of an earlier era. But as she鈥檚 poised to return to her old job leading the civil rights office, she is likely to face opposition from both the right, which sees her as a radical and has a newfound zeal for attacking race-based policies in education, and activists on the left, who say the Obama administration didn鈥檛 do enough to protect students of color from harsh school discipline, especially at the hands of campus police. Meanwhile, a new RAND Corporation that takes a sweeping 20-year look at the Office for Civil Rights concluded that its investigations are an insufficient vehicle to deliver justice to students who have suffered discrimination.

President Joe Biden nominated Lhamon last month to once again be the Education Department’s assistant secretary for civil rights; she awaits a confirmation hearing that will almost certainly also drill down on other contentious issues, such as campus sexual assault and transgender student rights, another culture war cause of the GOP. On the discipline front, earlier this month the Education Department and explore policy options that promote campus safety through 鈥渇air and nondiscriminatory school discipline.鈥� Weeks earlier, to the Biden administration, urging them to reinstate and strengthen the Obama-era guidance, citing 鈥渁 clear connection between exclusionary school discipline and an increased rate of incarceration.鈥�

Policymakers and pundits have clashed for years over the factors behind racial disparities in discipline and how to remedy them, but Lhamon is expected to resume her work on the issue in a new political environment. George Floyd鈥檚 murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer last year sparked a national debate over the way students of color, Black children in particular, are disproportionately arrested at school compared to their white classmates, leading districts across the country to sever longstanding ties with the police.

In recent months, the way educators teach students about the historic and present realities of racism has risen to the top of the national discourse as 鈥渃ritical race theory鈥� becomes a partisan landmine. The concept argues that racism isn鈥檛 merely a product of individual prejudices but, rather, is baked into government policies.

Russell Skiba, a school psychology professor at Indiana University-Bloomington whose research focuses on inequities in school discipline, said that Lhamon鈥檚 tenure represented 鈥渁 major step in providing leadership to the country鈥� about racial disparities in suspensions, But it鈥檚 critical, he said, that the Biden administration expands its focus on the role school-based police play in the disparate treatment of Black students.

鈥淚t was extremely important for the Obama administration to step up and essentially validate what researchers had known for a long time and what many, many schools and school districts were beginning to find out, that preventive approaches to discipline are simply more effective,鈥� he said. As civil rights officials investigated the source of racial disparities in school discipline, Skiba said the data was 鈥渁 canary in a coal mine that says there is still a problem there, our system still has the effects of 400 years of racism and oppression somehow wound into it.鈥�

An Education Department spokesman said that Lhamon declined to comment during her confirmation process. In line , the Education Department is 鈥渆xploring ways that states, schools and communities can help close鈥� racial disparities in school discipline.

鈥淎ll students deserve access to safe, supportive schools and classrooms,鈥� Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a press release. 鈥淒iscrimination and use of exclusionary discipline can negatively impact students鈥� abilities to learn, grow and thrive.鈥�

鈥淲e ended up with lots of files of increasingly stale documents based on investigations that had begun with good intentions and much fanfare but which led nowhere.鈥� 鈥�Kenneth Marcus, Education Department’s assistant secretary for civil rights during the Trump administration

Yet, as the Obama-era Education Department opened expansive civil rights inquiries, cases piled up and investigations took longer to close. Kenneth Marcus, who led the civil rights office during the Trump administration, sought to make investigations more efficient but faced accusations he was overzealous in closing them. During the Obama years, the office was 鈥渂iting off more than it could chew,鈥� Marcus told 蜜桃影视, adding that many investigators were frustrated because they lacked 鈥渢he skills, time or ability in many cases鈥� to carry out the work.

鈥淲e ended up with lots of files of increasingly stale documents based on investigations that had begun with good intentions and much fanfare,鈥� he added, 鈥渂ut which led nowhere.鈥�

鈥楻ethink discipline鈥�

Much of the school discipline debate revolves around a legal concept that one expert called the 鈥渃ousin鈥� of critical race theory: Disparate impact. The latter occurs when officials deem policies discriminatory if they have a disproportionately negative effect on a racial group but weren鈥檛 clearly created with biased intent. The concept was central to the Obama administration鈥檚 approach on school discipline.

Under Lhamon鈥檚 leadership in 2014, the Departments of Education and Justice that warned districts that their discipline policies could constitute 鈥渦nlawful discrimination鈥� under federal civil rights law if they didn鈥檛 explicitly mention race but had a 鈥渄isproportionate and unjustified effect on students of a particular race.鈥� While the document acknowledged that racial disparities in student discipline rates may be 鈥渃aused by a range of factors,鈥� it said that the 鈥渟ubstantial racial disparities鈥� couldn鈥檛 be attributed entirely to 鈥渕ore frequent or more serious misbehavior by students of color.鈥�

Racial disparities in school discipline are starkest for girls. Black girls are more than four times more likely than white females to face suspension, according to . Meanwhile, Black boys are more than twice as likely to be suspended than their white male classmates. Such disparities exist across other sanctions, including expulsions and school-based arrests.

The Obama guidance document marked a turning point for the civil rights office, which had based purely on disparate impact. Meanwhile, the Obama administration instructed federal investigators to broaden the scope of civil rights inquiries, including those related to racial discrimination in school discipline, to assess whether systemic biases were at play.

The efforts were part of a broader effort encouraging school leaders to 鈥渞ethink discipline鈥� by adopting measures like restorative justice and reducing their reliance on exclusionary practices like suspensions. Though schools across the country embraced alternatives to suspensions and .

But even as districts seek to reduce suspensions and focus on alternatives like restorative justice and positive behavioral interventions and supports, a about whether those efforts are sufficient. The report found 鈥渓imited evidence鈥� that such programs reduce the disparities 鈥� and, in fact, end up protecting white and female students in disciplinary situations more than students of color.

Kashish Bastola, a 17-year-old student from McKinney, Texas, said he wasn鈥檛 surprised when the for racial disparities in discipline last year.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen that in our classrooms, we鈥檝e seen that with my closest friends getting dress-coded just because they鈥檙e Black,鈥� said Bastola, an ambassador and organizer with the youth-led group Student Voice. 鈥淭he way we have our dress code set up, it鈥檚 so subjective that teachers and administrators can dress-code you and say you violated a rule based on a broad interpretation of the policy. That, to me, seems really dangerous.鈥�

Though more needs to be done, Bastola lauded the Obama administration鈥檚 focus on reducing discipline disparities, which helped shift educators 鈥渁way from the idea that schools have to be punitive.鈥�

An office under stress

In recent years, a significant body of research has found that suspensions, expulsions and school-based arrests , including lowered academic performance and an increased likelihood of dropping out.

These negative effects fall disproportionately on the shoulders of Black students, who are less likely than their white classmates to . During the 2017-18 school year, Black students represented 15 percent of the country鈥檚 public school enrollment and 38 percent of those who received at least one out-of-school suspension, according to the most recent federal data.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a hierarchy to how teachers treat students based on these physical characteristics 鈥� boy, girl, light-skinned, dark-skinned, immigrant, all of these kinds of things 鈥� and some [students] have been very privy to paying attention to that.鈥� 鈥�Leton Hall, middle school science teacher, New York City

The root causes of these disparities are complicated and varied, according to , which focused on the discipline of elementary school students. But nearly half of the discipline gap could be attributed to teachers treating Black and white students differently, suggesting that the 鈥渄ifferences in punishment may be due to racial bias鈥� among educators. The report concluded that just 9 percent of the disparities could be explained by differences in behaviors between Black and white children, a frequent talking point among critics of Lhamon鈥檚 position on school discipline.

鈥淚n elementary school in particular, when misbehavior tends to be relatively common and relatively minor, educators exercise high levels of discretion in determining sanctions for inappropriate behavior,鈥� according to the report. As a result, some educators鈥� responses are marred by racial stereotypes.

Leton Hall, a middle school science teacher in the Bronx, has experienced such bias first-hand. During the Trump administration, Hall and other members of the Educators for Excellence advocacy group urged officials to keep the Obama guidance in place.

鈥淚 have seen biases, even in myself as a Black man, of how I鈥檝e, at some points, targeted males of color鈥� with discipline more harshly than their peers, he said. As he became more experienced, he grew more lenient toward students, he said, 鈥渂ut I鈥檝e seen other teachers not give kids leeway and automatically go toward the top-of-the-rung of what you need to do to discipline a kid when maybe that wasn鈥檛 necessary.鈥�

Students in his school are acutely aware that such disparities exist, he said, and on occasion call them out.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a hierarchy to how teachers treat students based on these physical characteristics 鈥� boy, girl, light-skinned, dark-skinned, immigrant, all of these kinds of things 鈥� and some of them have been very privy to paying attention to that,鈥� he said. He said it鈥檚 critical that teachers recognize and combat their own biases.

Despite more attention on the issue in recent years, federal civil rights complaints related to racial discrimination in school discipline have remained relatively steady, according to a spanning two decades. Between 1999 and 2019, families and advocates filed nearly 5,000 racial discrimination complaints related to school discipline, less than half of which led to federal investigations, according to the report, which was conducted by Rachel Perera, a Ph.D. candidate at the Pardee RAND Graduate School.

Nearly every case was settled through voluntary agreements between the Education Department and school districts yet, during the Trump administration, Perera found that a higher share of cases were closed after a finding of no violations or insufficient evidence compared with the final stretch of the Obama administration, when discipline disparities became a major focus.

That finding, Perera said, is 鈥渃onsistent with the concerns that civil-rights advocates have been raising鈥� about the Trump administration鈥檚 focus on efficiency. But her research also highlighted a major drawback to Obama鈥檚 approach: The time officials took to complete cases 鈥渟ignificantly increased鈥� during Lhamon鈥檚 tenure followed by dramatic declines during the Trump administration. A spokesperson for the Education Department, whose civil rights office and an annual budget of $130 million, declined to comment on the report.

To Perera, the findings suggest that the office was either under-resourced, a problem Lhamon has also cited, or that federal investigators 鈥渁re not equipped to do this type of work.鈥� Regardless of the reason, the lengthy investigations were a 鈥渂ig drawback in pursuing this as an avenue for recourse,鈥� because a years-long backlog 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 necessarily help the students and families who are needing some relief鈥� when they file complaints.

Despite that need for relief as the disparities persist, Perera concluded that federal civil rights investigations aren鈥檛 鈥渁n effective way to narrow disparities at scale.鈥� If the civil rights office 鈥渋s going to be an avenue for all students, they seem to to be under-resourced to do that.鈥�

鈥楥ommon ground鈥� unlikely

To Marcus, the Trump-era civil-rights chief, Lhamon and other Obama officials were overly focused on pushing schools to address 鈥渟tatistical anomalies鈥� that advanced a political agenda. After Trump鈥檚 presidency, he returned to his post as the founder and chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a group focused on Jewish civil rights.

While it鈥檚 important for investigators to identify discriminatory actions that 鈥渄o not reveal themselves through explicit language and policies,鈥� he said that disparate impact inquiries are 鈥渙ften used to cut corners in order to put pressure on institutions to address statistical anomalies whether there is bias or not.鈥�

鈥淚t is unfortunate that the debate has become politically polarized,鈥� Marcus lamented. 鈥淚t is also unfortunate that, sometimes, corners are cut so that, instead of ferreting out discrimination, government officials instead try to implement what can look too much like numerical quotas.鈥�

Marcus鈥檚 comments mirrored those from attorney and Trump administration advisor Hans Bader, of forcing districts to create 鈥渞acial quotas鈥� to ensure that students of color are disciplined at similar rates to their white classmates. In an email, he criticized , released in 2019 under Lhamon鈥檚 leadership, which argued that students of color 鈥渄o not commit more discipline offenses than their white peers鈥� but receive harsher and longer punishments. As such, the report recommended that the Education Department offer districts guidance on 鈥渉ow to comply with federal nondiscrimination laws鈥� when disciplining students. But the report, Bader said, made 鈥渦nsupported claims about misbehavior rates being the same,鈥� and failed to provide adequate evidence to back up that central thesis. In fact, highlighted in the report had actually shown the opposite.

In 2018, the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, drew new attention to school violence and school discipline policies, with some Republican lawmakers and pundits claiming that discipline-reduction efforts made schools less safe. A federal school safety commission led by Trump鈥檚 Education Secretary Betsy DeVos the Obama-era guidance created 鈥渁 chilling effect鈥� on teachers鈥� ability to punish students and 鈥渓ikely had a strong, negative impact on school discipline and safety.鈥� DeVos .

Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a right-leaning think tank, said the Trump administration鈥檚 decision to use Parkland as motivation to rescind the guidance was 鈥渞eally a bad decision because it conflated two issues that really were not closely connected,鈥� but he supported the policy shift nonetheless, pointing to poverty and community crime rates as drivers behind the racial disparities in discipline.

Now, if the Education Department prods districts to reduce their discipline rates as schools recover from the pandemic, it could have unintended consequences. Heightened emotional challenges among students, he worried, could prompt a spike in behavioral problems.

鈥淜ids are going to bring some of that with them into schools, some of that trauma, and some kids are going to act out and they鈥檙e going to misbehave,鈥� Petrilli said. 鈥淪chools need to be ready to have strategies that are going to keep kids safe and keep the classroom orderly.鈥�

The advocates want more

Though the 2014 guidance letter signified a newfound focus on combating racial disparities in school discipline, Obama-era efforts to reduce suspensions preceded both it and Lhamon鈥檚 tenure. In 2012, for example, the Education Department , public schools to create alternatives to suspensions and reduce disparities.

Jackie Byers, director of , said the federal agreement was critical because the Oakland district 鈥渨asn鈥檛 going to address this without a mandate,鈥� but it also came with side effects. Even as suspension rates dropped, she noted that the racial disparities persisted and that educators sometimes gamed the numbers through 鈥渙ff-book suspensions.鈥� Meanwhile, officials鈥� focus on suspensions and expulsions failed to adequately confront the racial disparities in school-based law enforcement referrals.

After a decade-long battle, the Black Organizing Project won a major victory last year when the Oakland school board , a change that followed Floyd鈥檚 murder in Minneapolis.

鈥淚鈥檝e seen models of where it works exceptionally well, where it even provides a pathway for students to look at themselves as potential law enforcement officers.鈥� 鈥�Education Secretary Miguel Cardona when asked whether he supports police in schools

Now, as the Biden administration scrutinizes racial disparities in student suspensions, Byers said that federal officials should take a lesson from Oakland. While she鈥檚 heartened by the new administration鈥檚 鈥渨illingness to at least talk about race,鈥� and its 鈥渨illingness to address racial disparities in pieces of school discipline,鈥� she accused officials of lacking 鈥渢he courage to address the issue of policing.鈥�

In response to a question from 蜜桃影视 in May, 鈥渁 positive thing.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檝e seen models of where it works exceptionally well, where it even provides a pathway for students to look at themselves as potential law enforcement officers,鈥� Cardona told reporters at the Education Writers Association鈥檚 national seminar. But school-based policing, he continued, must be 鈥渄one well, or else it could turn really negative.鈥�

For Byers, Cardona鈥檚 statement suggests a lack of commitment to racial equity in school discipline, noting 鈥渁 direct correlation between policing and suspensions.鈥�

鈥淚f you are willing to address one part of it, but you鈥檙e not willing to address this 鈥斅燼nd in fact, you鈥檙e willing to invest in more policing 鈥斅爐hen to me you鈥檙e not really serious about shifting the culture. You are interested in maintaining at least the status quo.鈥�