The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday it is reversing its decision to stop Trump-era data collection about teacher-on-student sexual assault allegations after facing sharp public backlash.
In November, as Breitbart News reported, the Biden Education Department decided to “terminate questions put in place by former president Donald Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that sought to provide a fuller understanding of sexual violence perpetrated by teachers and staff against students.”
The proposal, affecting the Department’s yearly Civil Rights Data Collection, would have allowed the Biden administration to stop collecting data on “rape or attempted rape, or sexual assault” allegations so long as the allegations were followed by “a resignation or retirement prior to final discipline or termination.”
According to Education Week, the Biden administration decided to include the questions after “further reflection,” but did not elaborate on what that reflection entailed.
When the original decision was announced in November, the Biden administration faced heavy backlash from the public, particularly in light of recent revelations in Loudoun County, Virginia, where it appears the school board covered up a rape in order to pass a sweeping transgender bill allowing boys to use girls’ restrooms.
DeVos at the time said the move would allow teachers’ unions to continue “passing the trash,” the practice of relocating predator teachers without disclosing their conduct to the new school district. “There is no rational way to justify sweeping teachers sexually assaulting students under the rug,” she said. “The only explanation is that the Biden Administration is a wholly owned subsidiary of the teacher union bosses.”
Commenting on the reversal, DeVos called it “sad” that the Education Department had to be “publicly shamed and embarrassed into doing the right thing.”
The unbelievable decision to remove these questions & sweep teacher-on-student assaults under the rug in the first place showed @usedgov makes every decision based only on what the union bosses demand.
Students deserve better.
— Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVos) December 15, 2021
During her time as education secretary, DeVos made combating in-school sexual assault and rape a top priority, particularly when it involved teachers and other staff. After the 2017-2018 data collection showed an increase in reported sexual assaults, DeVos remarked, “We hear all too often about innocent children being sexually assaulted by an adult at school. That should never happen. No parent should have to think twice about their child’s safety while on school grounds.”
As Breitbart News reported, the Education Department was set to replace the sexual assault questions with ones about students’ gender identities, adding a “non-binary” option.
Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.
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