Secretary of Education DeVos issued a rule requiring states to share coronavirus relief funds with private schools, irrespective of need or low-income status.
News from the NAACP, the Education Law Center, and the Southern Poverty Law Center:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 4, 2020
Contacts: Ashley Levett, (334) 296-0084 / ashley.levett@splcenter.org
Sharon Krengel, (973) 624-1815, x24 / skrengel@edlawcenter.org
Parents, Districts, and NAACP Win Major Victory as Federal Court Blocks
Illegal DeVos Rule Nationwide
WASHINGTON D C – Late this afternoon the U S District Court for the District of Columbia
Judge Friedrich wrote: “Congress expressed a clear and unambiguous preference for apportioning funding to private schools based on the number of children from low-income families…” The court continued: “Contrary to the Department’s interim final rule, that cannot mean the opposite of what it says.”….The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in NAACP v. DeVos, striking down a rule that imposes unlawful conditions on federal emergency aid for public schools. Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ruled that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education violated the clear language of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in issuing a regulation that would illegally divert desperately needed funds away from public school students for the benefit of private schools.
“This decision sends a clear signal that Secretary DeVos cannot use illegal means to advance her agenda of funneling scarce public resources to private education, to the detriment of our highest need students in public schools across the country,” said Tamerlin Godley, a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, who argued the plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment. “We are particularly grateful that the court issued this decision quickly so that public school districts do not lose any more time in meeting the urgent needs of their students during this pandemic.”
The plaintiffs are the NAACP, public school parents and districts across the country. The plaintiff families have children enrolled in public schools in states including Maryland, North Carolina Georgia Arizona Florida Tennessee Nevada Mississippi and Alabama as well as,,,,,, , Washington, D.C. The plaintiffs also include Broward County Public Schools, FL; DeKalb County School District, GA; Denver County School District, CO; Pasadena Unified School District, CA; and Stamford Public Schools, CT.
The plaintiffs are represented by the law firm Munger Tolles & Olson LLP as well as the
Education Law Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center. These organizations collaborate on
Public Funds Public Schools (PFPS), a national campaign to ensure that public funds for education are used to maintain, support, and strengthen public schools.
The rule invalidated today required districts to either divert more funding for “equitable services” to private school students than the law allows or face onerous restrictions on the use of those funds in their public schools. It would have drastically diminished the desperately needed resources available to support public school children during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particularly harmful effect on historically underserved student populations, including students of color and low-income students.
The court’s ruling grants a nationwide vacatur of the rule, bringing much-needed certainty to public schools across the country that they will have the full amount of CARES Act funds to which they are entitled.
More information about NAACP v. DeVos is available here. #
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I wonder how much Besty the Brutal-Beast Bungler DeVos already gifted to the wealthy private schools in defiance of Congress and how this judge.
Students will not return from charters to public schools if we still support a racist system. Politicians blame teachers and public schools when the system fails the students. When students are afflicted by problems such as childhood stress, learning slows leaving teachers the choice of failing kids and retaining them or passing with a D while not learning. When they fail twice they realize they are too old to graduate and drop out. The politicians like this because it would cost too much to serve all kids. And they can blame teachers either way.
We must stop politically driven education by teaching the catch 22 that teachers are put in. If we do not pressure for systemic change, public schools will and should, perish
There is no circumstance in which a common good built by a government of the people, by the people and for the people should “perish”.
Ok, then maybe Mrs. Devos will fund the parents that prefer an education for their children that is free from liberal indoctrination!
Bill,
Where have you seen liberal indoctrination?
It’s a myth.
There is hope yet?
There is hope if this does not get into an appeal process courtesy of Bill Barr and Trump, with the prospect the case will end up in the Supreme Court. The attack on public institutions, including schools, will not stop as long as Trump and his Republican enablers are in power. Also, Pray for TBG.
and the open attack we’ve seen from Trump the past couple of years will likely only go back into hiding itself after he is gone
Make liberal indoctrination illegal.
Betsy can’t be happy with what is happening in Michigan. Former Mich. Gov. Rick Snyder
(Flint water crisis) endorsed Biden today. No doubt Snyder understands the wind is blowing in a different direction.
This summer the Michigan State University’s Senior V-P of Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies was asked to resign. A campus community letter/petition that asked for Stephen Hsu’s removal expressed concern about “scientific racism, sexism,… conflicts of interest…”. Under protest, Hsu submitted his resignation.
A MSU professor, graduate of Loyola, signed a letter in support of Hsu. The professor and his colleague at the University of Maryland, a graduate of St. Mary’s College, share something in common with Prof. Roland Fryer- authorship of controversial papers claiming police shootings of black men are unconnected to racial bias. The two professors from MSU and the University of Maryland retracted their paper.
Public education supporters may recall that it is Michigan State University that houses the John Arnold-funded EPIC, an organization that received grants from Betsy’s Dept. of Education. Arnold financed both EPIC and Tulane’s ERA. A closer examination of the type of college department funding that AEI’s Frederick Hess called for in, “Don’t Surrender the Academy”, is advisable for state, religious and public universities. The critical review is a bit late. Fortunately, the winds are shifting.
Arnold and Pew, are involved in community surveillance programs (Town and Country magazine). The Baltimore Sun reported about an Arnold-funded police program in which elected community leaders had no knowledge until media reports.
Expansion on the controversy -Kevin Bird’s site, 6-16-2020, “Comments on the Uproar over Stephen Hsu”.
The Pioneer Fund incorporated in 1937 is mentioned in the coverage.
Faculty have received grants – the SPLC identifies the University of Delaware’s Linda Gottfredson as a relatively recent recipient. And, the AP identified Aurelio Figuredo at the University of Arizona as one. as well.