NEWS: Senator Blunt Rochester Fights for Civil Rights Protections in Education

“We know that discrimination is not new, and it still persists.” Click here to watch Senator Blunt Rochester’s remarks. U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, today participated in a Committee Executive Session to consider key legislation. Senator Blunt Rochester and Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) offered an amendment to prevent the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Education from being transferred to another Federal Agency. Republicans blocked consideration of the amendment. Senator Blunt Rochester’s remarks can be found here and below: Senator Blunt Rochester : “Thank you, Senator Murray, for her leadership on this issue. I also want to thank Senator Hassan for making it clear that this is about students, families, and businesses. I co-lead this amendment because we know that discrimination is not new, and it still persists. “I know it as the former Secretary of Labor of Delaware. I know it as the former CEO of the [Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League], where we fought for civil rights and justice, and also as a person who worked for the Institute for Community Inclusion, focused on people with disabilities. “Created from the momentum of the Civil Rights Movement, the Office for Civil Rights is tasked with the responsibility of protecting students on the basis of race, religion, disability, gender, age, and national origin from discrimination, and making sure all children can go to school and learn. The work of OCR is as important today as it has ever been. The office is receiving increasing complaints of discrimination, while this administration is gutting protections, taking us backwards instead of forward. “Instead of a system where the Department of Education investigates every claim, this interagency agreement could leave investigations up to the discretion of the DOJ and an administration that has demonstrated it cannot be trusted. We have almost no details about how this would actually work or how cases would be prioritized or addressed. Because of this, I urge my colleagues to join us in a vote of yes on this amendment, and do it for every student, every family, and every business in this country.”