Trump Administration Ramps Up Pressure on California’s Education System

Talks with Harvard are ongoing and despite hints that some kind of compromise might be reached soon, nothing has been formally announced yet. Meanwhile, the Trump administration does seem to be turning its attention toward California. Yesterday Trump’s education department said California was in violation of federal civil rights law.

The Trump administration declared on Wednesday that the California Department of Education had violated federal law by allowing transgender girls to compete on female sports teams. It gave the state 10 days to reverse its policies or face “imminent enforcement action.”

The administration has argued that when schools recognize transgender identities, they violate girls’ rights under Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination.

In a statement, the Education Department cited the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that upheld Tennessee’s ban on puberty blockers, hormone therapy and gender-transition surgery for transgender youth.

Sec. McMahon’s press release made a point of noting that Gov. Newsom had already conceded the point that having trans girls compete with girls in sports was unfair.

“Although Governor Gavin Newsom admitted months ago it was ‘deeply unfair’ to allow men to compete in women’s sports, both the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation continued as recently as a few weeks ago to allow men to steal female athletes’ well-deserved accolades and to subject them to the indignity of unfair and unsafe competitions,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “The Trump Administration will relentlessly enforce Title IX protections for women and girls, and our findings today make clear that California has failed to adhere to its obligations under federal law. The state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow.” 

Despite Newsom’s recent admission the response from his spokesperson was snarky and dismissive.

Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, in an emailed statement alluded to the several threats President Donald Trump has made to cut California’s federal funding and McMahon’s former role as a professional wrestling executive.

“It wouldn’t be a day ending in ‘Y’ without the Trump Administration threatening to defund California. Now Secretary McMahon is confusing government with her WrestleMania days — dramatic, fake, and completely divorced from reality. This won’t stick,” Gardon wrote.

We’ll see if it sticks but I think California’s confidence that it won’t might be misplaced. In any case, today the Justice Department announced a new investigation of California’s university system.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation into the University of California (UC) system, including its individual campuses, concerning potential race- and sex-based discrimination in university employment practices.

The University of California’s “UC 2030 Capacity Plan” directs its campuses to hire “diverse” faculty members to meet race- and sex-based employment quotas. These initiatives openly measure new hires by their race and sex, which potentially runs afoul of federal law. The Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section will investigate whether the University of California is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, sex, and other protected characteristics, pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

What is the “UC 2030 Capacity Plan?” Here’s how the NY Times describes it:

The 44-page plan is a three-year-old planning document aimed at expanding enrollment in the University of California system while also “reflecting California’s diversity.” It makes no specific mention of quotas, but does note that future growth of faculty and students should result in campus populations that “better reflect and tap the talent of underrepresented populations who represent the majority of Californians.”

Here’s what the actual plan says in its introduction:

Recognizing California’s need to increase access to the University, President Michael V. Drake established a Council of Chancellors (COC) working group to examine options to expand enrollment capacity through 2030. President Drake wanted the effort to be organic and strategic, leveraging insight and opportunities from the campuses and meeting the needs of California.  He also wanted growth to be intentional – the growth of faculty and graduate students needed to accompany undergraduate enrollment growth and result in campus populations that better reflect and tap the talent of underrepresented populations who represent the majority of Californians. 

So it’s true that the plan doesn’t mention quotas (the authors would have to be idiots to state a plan in direct violation of civil rights law) but in context the use of “intentional” hiring is intended to “result in campus populations that better reflect and tap the talent of underrepresented populations who represent the majority of Californians.” In other words, more diversity.

And then on page 11 we get to the heart of it.

California’s need: California is a majority-minority state, but underrepresented groups (i.e., Black, Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander, Indigenous) are less likely to graduate from college and have the economic benefits associated with a college degree; the pandemic further exacerbated these historic inequities.9

University of California’s plan: UC will seize its generational opportunity to become a Hispanic-serving and minority-serving system, fostering inclusive institutions and advancing UC 2030 goals to expand opportunities for UC undergraduate and graduate students and research faculty. 

The number 9 above is a footnote which leads to another document called “Recovery with Equity.” And on page 14 of that document we get another statement about hiring for equity.

Goal: By 2030, learners of all backgrounds will report that they feel valued, supported, and affirmed at their institutions; that faculty are adept at creating courses that are responsive to and build upon the unique experiences, needs, and talents of all learners; and that post-secondary institutions actively support their academic success and career readiness. 

1. Improve Faculty, Staff, and Administrator Diversity An equitable and inclusive culture cannot occur if campus personnel do not reflect the rich diversity of California. Expanding faculty, staff, and administrator diversity requires dedicated, intentional efforts bolstered by strong data monitoring and accountability.

That’s from the executive summary. Here’s what the report itself says:

An equitable and inclusive culture cannot exist if campus personnel do not reflect the rich diversity of California. Expanding faculty, staff, and administrator diversity requires dedicated, intentional efforts bolstered by strong data monitoring and accountability. 

Policy Changes at the State, Segment, and Institutional Levels: • Adopt and implement innovative hiring practices to increase faculty, staff, and administrator diversity, including equity-centered outreach and duty statements,  inclusive minimum qualification and selection processes, cluster hiring, diversity  in hiring committees, exit interviews, and first-year onboarding programs.

So, I don’t know. Hiring for diversity “bolstered by strong data monitoring” sounds a lot like making sure the numbers go in the desired direction. There’s no specific number mentioned but one seems to be implied. Why monitor the data if not to ensure you’re getting the desired result?

There’s probably more to look through in these documents but I’m out of time for today. Hopefully the DOJ has looked at them very carefully.