News
DeVos: It’s OK if states discriminate against LGBT students
Education sec’y also won’t denounce racial discrimination
Betsy DeVos refused to denounce discrimination against LGBT students.
(Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Under a grilling during a congressional hearing Wednesday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos refused to say she’ll speak out against discrimination against LGBT students — or even students experiencing racial discrimination.
Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) pressed DeVos during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Lighthouse Christian Academy, a private school in Indiana the lawmaker says is the recipient school voucher money, but may not admit students from families with “homosexual or bisexual activity” or “practicing alternate identity.”
Clark asked DeVos, who’s advocating a budget that calls for a $250 million increase in school voucher funds, if she’ll “stand up that this school will be open to all students.”
DeVos first dodged the question, saying she’ll like to defer to earlier comment from lawmaker, and still refused to denounce the policy when asked to draw a line on state flexibility and reject money for schools discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, race or special needs.
“For states who have programs that allow for parents to make choices, they set up the rules around that,” DeVos said.
Pressed further by Clark on whether the Education Department would withhold school vouchers on any situation regarding discrimination, DeVos again refused to answer.
“The Office of Civil Rights and our Title IX protections are broadly applicable across the board,” DeVos said. “But when it comes to parents making choices on behalf of their students…”
Davis interrupting by saying “this isn’t about parents making choices, this is about use of federal dollars,” and pressed DeVos who provided a non-answer about flexibility.
“So, if I understand your testimony,” Davis responded, “I want to make sure I get this right. There’s no situation of discrimination or exclusion that if a state approved it for its voucher program, that you would step and say that’s now how we’re going to use our federal dollars? There’s no situation, if the state approved it, that you would put the state flexibility over our students? Is that your testimony?”
DeVos began to say the situation was “hypothetical,” but Davis responded the situation was real and pointed to Lighthouse Christian Academy. At this point, the Republican chair of the committee informed Davis her time had expired.
“The bottom line is we believe that parents are the best equipped to make choices for their children’s schooling and education decisions, and too many children today are trapped in schools that don’t work for them,” DeVos said. “We have to do something different, we have to do something different than continuing a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach, and that is the focus, and states and local communities are best equipped to make these decisions and framework on behalf of their students.”
Davis, seemingly exasperated, concluded, “I am shocked that you could not come up with one example of discrimination that you would stand up for students.”
David Stacy, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, was among those denouncing DeVos for refusing to denounce anti-LGBT discrimination.
“Taxpayer funds should never be used to discriminate against LGBTQ students, and it is shocking and disappointing that Secretary DeVos won’t make this basic commitment,” Stacy said. “Secretary DeVos has failed again to stand up for all students and ensure every child is able to receive an education free from harassment and discrimination.”
Federal law against discrimination in schools also prohibits charter and private schools from discriminating against students. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin for any school accepting federal funds, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex for any school accepting federal funds. There is an exemption in Title IX for religious schools, but not for charter or secular private schools.
DeVos, who was narrowly confirmed by the Senate, has been a controversial figure and despised by charter school opponents for her support for school vouchers.
Earlier this year, DeVos and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions revoked Obama-era guidance barring schools from discriminating against transgender students or denying them access to the restroom consistent with their gender identity.
Media reports indicated she resisted the change, but she ultimately agreed to it. Afterwards, DeVos met with transgender students and a trio of LGBT advocacy groups at the Education Department.
Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO of GLAAD, also denounced DeVos and said the education secretary was “turning a blind eye to LGBTQ students who experience discrimination in school.”
“DeVos once claimed she was an LGBTQ ally, but has now supported back to back policies that would erase LGBTQ students from classrooms,” Ellis said. “If she wants to be known as more than an anti-LGBTQ activist the time is now to reverse course.”
h/t Huffington Post
District of Columbia
Mayor Bowser signs bill requiring insurers to cover PrEP
‘This is a win in the fight against HIV/AIDS’
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on March 20 signed a bill approved by the D.C. Council that requires health insurance companies to cover the costs of HIV prevention or PrEP drugs for D.C. residents at risk for HIV infection.
Like all legislation approved by the Council and signed by the mayor, the bill, called the PrEP D.C. Amendment Act, was sent to Capitol Hill for a required 30-day congressional review period before it takes effect as D.C. law.
Gay D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) last year introduced the bill.
Insurance coverage for PrEP drugs has been provided through coverage standards included in the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. But AIDS advocacy organizations have called on states and D.C. to pass their own legislation requiring insurance coverage of PrEP as a safeguard in case federal policies are weakened or removed by the Trump administration, which has already reduced federal funding for HIV/AIDS-related programs.
Like legislation passed by other states, the PrEP D.C. Amendment Act requires insurers to cover all PrEP drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Studies have shown that PrEP drugs, which can be taken as pills or by injection just twice a year, are highly effective in preventing HIV infection.
“I think this is a win for our community,” Parker said after the D.C. Council voted unanimously to approve the bill on its first vote on the measure in February. “And this is a win in the fight against HIV/AIDS.”
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, will visit Hungary next week.
An announcement the White House released on Thursday said the Vances will be in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, from April 7-8.
JD Vance “will hold bilateral meetings with” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The announcement further indicates the vice president “will also deliver remarks on the rich partnership between the United States and Hungary.”
The Vances will travel to Hungary less than a week before the country’s parliamentary elections take place on April 12.
Orbán, who has been in office since 2010, and his Fidesz-KDNP coalition government have faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
The Associated Press notes polls indicate Orbán is trailing Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party.
President Donald Trump removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from her post Thursday, following growing criticism over how she and the Department of Justice handled a range of issues, including matters related to sex offender and Trump ally Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump announced Bondi’s removal on Truth Social, where he also said Todd Blanche will serve as acting head of the Justice Department.
“Pam Bondi is a great American patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my attorney general over the past year,” Trump wrote on the platform. “Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown on crime across our country, with murders plummeting to their lowest level since 1900.”
Trump was seen as recently as Wednesday with the now-former attorney general at a Supreme Court hearing on citizenship.
The decision contrasts with Trump’s previous public praise of Bondi, the 87th U.S. attorney general and former 37th attorney general of Florida, who served in that role from 2011-2019 before joining the Trump-Vance administration. He has frequently lauded her loyalty and said he speaks with her often. Bondi was also one of president’s defense lawyers during his first impeachment trial.
Privately, however, Trump had grown frustrated that Bondi was not “moving quickly enough” to prosecute critics and political adversaries he wanted to face criminal charges, according to multiple sources. The New York Times reported that her inability to charge former FBI Director James B. Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James with any crimes is a large factor in the president’s choice to fire her from the government’s primary law enforcement agency.
The move comes as Trump has sought to minimize public turmoil within his administration, avoiding the perception of a revolving-door Cabinet that defined his first term.
Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York who unsuccessfully ran for governor, has emerged as a leading contender to lead the Justice Department. He has been one of Trump’s most reliable allies.
“He’s our secret weapon,” Trump said of Zeldin in February during a White House event promoting the coal industry, adding, “He’s getting those approvals done in record-setting time.”
Bondi has also growing faced scrutiny from Congress.
The House Oversight Committee recently subpoenaed her to testify about the department’s handling of certain files, where she declined to answer key questions during a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing in February.
The Tampa native has a long history of opposing LGBTQ rights through her roles in government. As Florida attorney general, she fought against the legalization of same-sex marriage, arguing it would cause “serious public harm,” pushing forward a legal battle that cost taxpayers nearly half a million dollars. She also asked the Florida Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that found the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.
More recently, Bondi established a “Title IX Special Investigations Team” within the Justice Department focused on restricting transgender women and girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports teams and accessing facilities aligned with their gender identity. She also told Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to turn over the medical records of anyone under 19 who received gender-affirming care.
Her removal follows Trump’s decision last month to oust another controversial female Cabinet figure, Kristi Noem.
Mayor Bowser signs bill requiring insurers to cover PrEP
JD Vance to travel to Hungary next week
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