The Department of Justice issued a final rule eliminating disparate impact liability from Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ending five decades of civil rights protections that allowed enforcement against policies producing racially discriminatory outcomes without proof of discriminatory …
Pam BondiHarmeet DhillonDepartment of Justicecivil-rightsdojlegaldiscriminationregulation+6 more
Nicholas Kent, formerly a policy officer at for-profit college association CECU, was sworn in as Under Secretary of Education, signaling potential deregulation and reduced oversight of higher education institutions. The Senate confirmed his nomination with a narrow 50-45 vote, amid concerns about …
Donald TrumpNicholas KentTrump Administrationcorruptionregulatory-captureeducationtrump-administrationfor-profit-colleges
Supreme Court ruled 6-3 (Harvard) and 6-2 (UNC) that race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard and University of North Carolina violate the Equal Protection Clause, effectively ending affirmative action in higher education nationwide. Chief Justice Roberts authored the majority opinion, joined …
Supreme CourtChief Justice John RobertsJustice Clarence ThomasJustice Samuel AlitoJustice Neil Gorsuch+11 moresupreme-courtjudicial-capturecivil-rightseducationracial-justice+1 more
Rick Singer, mastermind of the $25 million Varsity Blues college admissions fraud scheme, received 3.5 years in prison despite prosecutors requesting 6 years. Singer pleaded guilty in March 2019 to racketeering conspiracy, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the US, and obstruction of justice. …
Rick SingerFederal Prosecutorsfraudcorruptioneducationinstitutional-captureminimal-accountability
On June 30, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue that states cannot exclude religious schools from programs that provide public funding to private schools, striking down Montana’s “Blaine Amendment” and similar provisions in 37 state …
Chief Justice John RobertsJustice Clarence ThomasJustice Samuel AlitoInstitute for JusticeBecket Fund for Religious Libertyeducationsupreme-courtreligious-schoolsvouchersestablishment-clause+2 more
Federal prosecutors unveiled Operation Varsity Blues, the largest college admissions fraud case ever prosecuted, charging 50 people including wealthy parents and university coaches. Mastermind Rick Singer ran a $25 million bribery scheme (2011-2018) through his firm The Key, facilitating fraudulent …
Rick SingerLori LoughlinFelicity HuffmanU.S. Attorney Andrew LellingFBIfraudcorruptioneducationinstitutional-capturewealth-inequality
On June 27, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Janus v. AFSCME that public-sector unions cannot collect “fair share” fees from non-members to cover the costs of collective bargaining, overturning the Court’s 1977 precedent in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education. The decision, …
Justice Samuel AlitoJustice Neil GorsuchNational Right to Work FoundationState Policy NetworkBradley Foundation+3 moreeducationlaborsupreme-courtteachers-unionsright-to-work+2 more
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos systematically blocked debt relief for over 200,000 students defrauded by for-profit colleges, overruling internal Education Department career staff who had recommended full loan forgiveness. Internal memos from the department’s Borrower Defense Unit dated …
Betsy DeVosU.S. Department of EducationCorinthian CollegesITT Technical Instituteregulatory-capturepredatory-lendingeducationstudent-debtconsumer-protection+1 more
On May 6, 2015, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed House Bill 1749 into law, prohibiting state agencies from making payroll deductions for membership dues to public employee associations that engage in collective bargaining. The legislation, which took effect November 1, 2015, specifically …
Governor Mary FallinOklahoma LegislatureOklahoma Education AssociationAmerican Federation of Teachers OklahomaRepresentative Tom Newell+1 moreunion-bustingteachers-unionsaleclabor-rightscollective-bargaining+1 more
Corinthian Colleges, one of the nation’s largest for-profit college chains with over 100 campuses, filed for bankruptcy after federal and state regulators exposed systematic fraud against students. The company aggressively recruited low-income students with false promises of high job placement …
Corinthian CollegesU.S. Department of EducationConsumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU)predatory-lendingeducationstudent-debtcorporate-fraudregulatory-capture+1 more
On July 30, 2012, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee released the Harkin Report, a devastating two-year investigation documenting systematic fraud, abuse, and taxpayer exploitation in the for-profit college industry. The 2,000-page report, based on subpoenaed …
Senator Tom HarkinSenate HELP CommitteeUniversity of PhoenixCorinthian CollegesITT Tech+3 moreeducationfor-profit-collegesfraudstudent-debtregulatory-failure+1 more
On July 24, 2009, the Obama administration announced Race to the Top (RttT), a $4.35 billion competitive grant program that would profoundly reshape American education policy by requiring states to adopt charter school expansion, test-based teacher evaluations, and Common Core standards as …
President Barack ObamaSecretary of Education Arne DuncanBill GatesGates FoundationDemocrats for Education Reform+1 moreeducationcharter-schoolsteacher-evaluationobama-administrationneoliberal-reform+1 more
On January 22, 2004, President George W. Bush signed the DC School Choice Incentive Act, creating the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP)—the first federally-funded private school voucher program in American history. Congress used its constitutional authority over the District of Columbia to …
President George W. BushSpeaker Dennis HastertSenator Judd GreggDC Public SchoolsHeritage Foundation+1 moreeducationvouchersprivatizationfederal-policywashington-dc
On June 23, 2003, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Grutter v. Bollinger that the University of Michigan Law School’s race-conscious admissions policy did not violate the Equal Protection Clause, upholding the principle that diversity in higher education constitutes a compelling government …
Justice Sandra Day O'ConnorJustice Clarence ThomasUniversity of Michigan Law SchoolLee BollingerCenter for Individual Rightseducationsupreme-courtaffirmative-actioncivil-rightsdiversity
On June 27, 2002, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris that Cleveland’s school voucher program did not violate the Establishment Clause, even though 96% of voucher students attended religious schools. The decision, authored by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, removed the …
Chief Justice William RehnquistJustice Sandra Day O'ConnorJustice Clarence ThomasInstitute for JusticeClint Bolick+1 moreeducationsupreme-courtvouchersreligious-schoolsestablishment-clause+1 more
On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) into law at Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio, with bipartisan fanfare that masked the legislation’s deeply destructive effects on public education. Co-sponsored by Senator Ted Kennedy and …
President George W. BushSenator Ted KennedyRepresentative John BoehnerPearson EducationETS+1 moreeducationtestingprivatizationcorporate-capturebipartisan-consensus+1 more
On May 5, 2000, the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) Natural Resources Task Force adopted the ‘Environmental Literacy Improvement Act’ at ALEC’s Spring Task Force Summit, with full approval by ALEC’s Board of Directors in June 2000. The model bill was …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Sandy Liddy BourneHeartland InstituteKoch IndustriesExxonMobil+4 morealecclimate-denialeducationdisinformationmodel-legislation+3 more
On October 7, 1998, President Bill Clinton signed the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that loosened regulations on for-profit colleges and set the stage for the industry’s explosive growth over the following decade. The legislation represented …
President Bill ClintonCongressApollo Group (University of Phoenix)Career Education CorporationHigher education lobbyistseducationfor-profit-collegesstudent-debtregulatory-capturederegulation
On June 4, 1991, Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson signed the nation’s first charter school law, creating a new category of publicly funded but independently operated schools that would transform American education over the following three decades. The legislation, championed by the Citizens …
Governor Arne CarlsonMinnesota LegislatureCitizens LeagueTed KolderieJoe Nathaneducationcharter-schoolsprivatizationschool-choicemodel-legislation
On March 27, 1990, Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson signed legislation creating the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), the nation’s first publicly-funded voucher program allowing public tax dollars to pay private school tuition. The program, initially limited to 1,000 low-income …
Governor Tommy ThompsonRepresentative Polly WilliamsBradley FoundationMilwaukee Public Schoolseducationvouchersprivatizationschool-choicemilwaukee+1 more
On April 26, 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education released “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform,” a report that fundamentally reshaped American education discourse and laid the ideological groundwork for decades of privatization efforts. The …
National Commission on Excellence in EducationSecretary of Education Terrel BellRonald ReaganHeritage Foundationeducationprivatizationreagan-eramanufactured-crisisschool-choice+1 more
On July 25, 1974, the Supreme Court issued its 5-4 ruling in Milliken v. Bradley, effectively ending meaningful school desegregation efforts across metropolitan America by prohibiting cross-district busing remedies to address urban-suburban segregation. The decision exempted wealthy white suburbs …
Chief Justice Warren BurgerJustice Thurgood MarshallU.S. Supreme CourtNAACP Legal Defense FundDetroit Public Schoolseducationsupreme-courtsegregationhousing-policyjudicial-capture+2 more
On March 21, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez that the Texas school finance system—which relied on local property taxes and created vast spending disparities between wealthy and poor districts—did not violate the Equal Protection Clause. The …
Justice Lewis PowellJustice Thurgood MarshallDemetrio RodriguezMexican American Legal Defense and Educational FundU.S. Supreme Courteducationsupreme-courtfunding-inequalitycivil-rightsproperty-tax+1 more
On April 11, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) at the Junction Elementary School in Stonewall, Texas, where he had attended as a child. The landmark legislation established the first comprehensive federal investment in K-12 education, …
President Lyndon B. JohnsonCongressNational Education Associationeducationcivil-rightsgreat-societyfederal-fundingpoverty
On June 26, 1959, the Prince Edward County, Virginia Board of Supervisors refused to appropriate funds to the County School Board, effectively closing the entire public school system rather than comply with federal court orders to integrate. This action represented the most extreme manifestation of …
Prince Edward County Board of SupervisorsVirginia General AssemblyHarry Byrdcivil-rightsinstitutional-racismmassive-resistanceeducationdemocratic-erosion