Regardless of which political party controls the White House and the two chambers of Congress, an enormous amount of activity occurs every year in the form of proposed legislation, regulatory directives from governmental agencies, and Executive Orders by the President of the United States. A vast assortment of law firms, lobbying organizations, and interest groups participate in the quest to achieve desired policy outcomes. The new Biden Administration is up and running at full speed and can be expected to pursue not only its preferred objectives, but also to push back against policies implemented during the previous Administration that it does not view favorably. The topic of sexual harassment in the educational sector furnishes an apt illustration of such activities.
Dating back to 2011, the Obama Administration issued an informal letter that defined sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination actionable under Title IX. A follow-up letter in April 2014 provided additional guidance on schools’ responsibilities under Title IX to address sexual violence as a form of sexual harassment. Opponents criticized the letters for undermining due process rights for involved parties. Multiple court cases then were launched that aimed at striking down campus procedures resulting from this guidance. The Trump Administration joined the controversy by having the U.S. Department of Education issue a final rule in May 2020 to address the responsibilities of college campuses and K-12 schools under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The rule aimed to ensure protections for sexual assault survivors and require thorough investigations of sexual assault incidents. It also was designed to align Title IX requirements with court precedents and provide fundamental protections for due process.
On March 8, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order directing the Department to review and consider suspending, revising, or rescinding the Department’s rule entitled “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance.” This issue of sexual harassment and violence has attracted considerable attention in recent years. For example, listening sessions about the contents of this rule began in 2017, which was followed by the Department’s release of that proposed rule in November 2018. The next year and a half led to the Department’s receiving and reviewing more than 224,000 public comments, and the Office of Management and Budget conducted 102 stakeholder meetings. The final rule in May 2020 specified how recipients of Federal financial assistance covered by Title IX, including elementary and secondary schools, along with postsecondary institutions, must respond to allegations of sexual harassment, including sexual assault. The rule amounted to 2,033 pages, which include the regulation itself, the Department’s legal rationale, and its response to thousands of public comments.
Valuable Services Provided By Governmental Data Gathering Agencies
Political party affiliation and personal ideology often combine to produce assessments about the value of government in the lives of the citizenry. An old joke involves being unwittingly trapped in one’s vehicle in a traffic jam and unable to see what is ahead to explain its cause. A liberal Democrat might conclude that what is needed to remedy the situation is to have a cop at the disruptive scene, while a conservative Republican might conclude that the mess is because there is a cop up there. A general truism in American life is that Democrats often look favorably upon increasing the amount of governmental activity to deal effectively with chronic problems, such as uneven allocation of health care and educational services, while Republicans may be more inclined to view the government as the cause of such problems rather than the cure. Often lost in these debates is a recognition that a function governmental agencies perform quite well, especially at the federal level, is to collect data that inform the implementation of sound public policies. A good example is the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) developed by the National Center for Education Statistics. This entity serves as the primary source of information about U.S. higher education institutions. An example of a useful IPEDS tool is a Trend Generator to view trends on most frequently asked subject areas including: Enrollment, Completions, Graduation Rates, Employees and Staff, Institutional Revenues, and Financial Aid.
More April 2021 TRENDS Articles
THE HEALTH WORKFORCE: AN IMPLICIT ASSUMPTION
Discusses some reasons why placing a greater focus on the individuals who provide health care services is warranted. Read More
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PROPOSED BUDGET
Lists some spending highlights, along with ASAHP activities in government relations. Read More
HEALTH REFORM DEVELOPMENTS
Looks at the importance of initiatives to improve health care quality and the implications of developing a public option for health insurance. Read More
DEVELOPMENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Refers to the problem of sexual harassment in educational institutions, along with citing the value of national data gathering by federal agencies. Read More
QUICK STAT (SHORT, TIMELY, AND TOPICAL)
Childhood Disability In The United States, 2019
U.S. Births: Final Data For 2019
Electronic Skin From Flexibility To A Sense Of Touch
Genome-Wide Programmable Transcriptional Memory By CRISPR-Based Epigenome Editing Read More
OBTAINABLE RESOURCES
Applying Systems Thinking To Regenerative Medicine
Shared Equity Leadership: Making Equity Everyone’s Work
Black And White Patients In Hospitals With Worse Safety Conditions Read More
OUTBREAKS OF “AGEISM” IN THREE NATIONS REGARDING COVID-19
Indicates eruptions that emerged over the social and economic costs of protecting older adults from this disease. Read More
PREVALENCE OF MEDIA SOCIAL ADDICTION
Pertains to how the problematic use of these forms of communication technology run the risk of impairing users’ psychosocial functioning and well-being. Read More