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美国教育部长2018年教育改革结果喜忧参半

时间:2018-12-23 15:32:46

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US Education Secretary’s Policy Changes Had Mixed Results in 2018

United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos moved to make several policy changes affecting American higher education in 2018.

This included reversals in court, some criticism and also several new policies.

Rules for investigations1 into sexual attacks

DeVos’s move in 2017 to withdraw guidance for colleges and universities given by the administration of former President Barack Obama has faced criticism. The guidance dealt with what colleges and universities should do about accusations2 of sexual assault.

In January 2018, three activist3 groups took legal action against the department. The groups said withdrawing the guidelines hurt protections guaranteed by the 1972 federal law known as Title IX.

Title IX bars discrimination based on sex at American colleges and universities, as well as at elementary and secondary schools. Schools that receive federal money are required to offer a clear way for students and employees to report sexual assault. They also must hold fair, open investigations.

In 2011, the Obama administration added guidance about how to deal with sexual violence accusations. Some rights groups praised the new rules at the time.

However, the Education Department withdrew the Obama administration rules in September 2017. It said they failed to provide fairness to both the accuser and the accused.

Skye Perryman is with Democracy Forward. Her group, the National Women’s Law Center, and the National Center for Youth Law brought the action against the Department of Education. Perryman told VOA that DeVos’s withdrawal4 of the 2011 guidelines would have a bad effect on those who might experience sexual violence.

“Individuals who’ve experienced…sexual violence, and sexual assault on campuses have been chilled in their ability to bring claims, because they do not believe that the system will protect them,” she said.

New rules released for public comment

In November, DeVos released new, proposed rules for investigating sexual wrongdoing at colleges and universities.

The new plan must go through a 60-day public comment process before it can be finalized5. It includes some changes sought by some groups. For example, one of the new guidelines would give accused students the chance to ask their accusers questions.

In a statement, DeVos said, “We can, and must, condemn6 sexual violence and punish those who perpetrate it, while ensuring a fair grievance7 process.”

Under the proposed rules, schools would only be required to investigate accusations if the reported incidents happened on areas overseen8 by the schools. The earlier guidelines had required schools to investigate all accusations wherever they were reported to have taken place.

Some rights groups, like the American Civil Liberties Union, have said on Twitter that the proposed rules are unfair to the accuser.

The period for comment on the new rules ends in January.

Student borrowing legal case

In early March, former Corinthian Colleges students made the claim that the Education Department unfairly used information about how much money they earn. The students said the agency used information from the Social Security Department to limit their student loan debt relief.

Corinthian Colleges was a for-profit higher education company that operated several schools across the U.S. and Canada. In 2015, the U.S. government found evidence it was illegally misinforming its students.

The Education Department has the ability to, in many cases, forgive student loan debt. Under former President Obama, the department paid $550 million to forgive student loans for tens of thousands of former Corinthian students.

The department then made rules designed to clarify how students can get debt relief. The rules were opposed by many for-profit colleges and universities.

The policy is known as borrower defense9, and the changes were meant to go into effect in July 2017. But DeVos said the rule made forgiving loans too easy and was unfair to taxpayers10. So she blocked it while attempting to create a new policy to replace it.

In September 2018, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss11 decided12 that DeVos’s delay was unlawful.

Changes without opposition13

Some of DeVos’s policy changes have not faced legal opposition.

In September, the Education Department removed national median data from its online tool that helps students decide which college or university to attend. A median number is one in a series of numbers that represents the middle value.

In 2013, the Obama administration launched the website, called College Scorecard. It is a database for important information on schools across the country, including yearly costs and average student debt.

The Education Department removed national median numbers from the website this year. It said that it was unfair to compare all schools with that measure. However, even some supporters of Secretary DeVos and her efforts found the change in the College Scorecard troubling.

“If you do not have anything to compare it to, you don’t understand … what’s out there,” said Daniel Elkins with the Enlisted14 Association of the National Guard of the United States. “Then you have to compare multiple graphs, multiple charts, and try and figure out an average on your own,” he added.

The Associated Press reports that DeVos announced one more major policy proposal for schools of all levels on Tuesday.

In 2014, the Obama administration urged schools not to suspend, remove or report students involved in bad behavior to police, except in extreme cases. That guidance came after research showed black students were more than three times as likely as white students to be suspended or removed.

However, a federal school safety commission has recommended changes to that policy in its final report. DeVos led the commission. She said that the federal government should not make one rule for all schools.

“The primary responsibility for the physical security of schools and the safety of their students naturally rests with states and local communities,” DeVos said.

I’m Pete Musto.

And I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

reversal(s) – n. a change to an opposite state, condition, or decision

assault – n. the crime of trying or threatening to hurt someone physically15

campus – n. the area and buildings around a university, college, or school

chilled – adj. to make someone less likely to do something especially through fear of penalty

perpetrate – v. to cause something that should be stopped, such as a mistaken idea or a bad situation, to continue

grievance – n. a statement in which you say you are unhappy or not satisfied with something

oversee(n) – v. to watch and direct a place or group of people in order to be sure that things are done correctly

relief – n. the removal or reducing of something that is painful or unpleasant

graph(s) – n. a drawing that uses a series of dots and lines to show how much or how quickly something changes

chart(s) – n. information in the form of a table or diagram


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 investigations 02de25420938593f7db7bd4052010b32     
(正式的)调查( investigation的名词复数 ); 侦查; 科学研究; 学术研究
参考例句:
  • His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查,但没有发现什么。
  • He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。
2 accusations 3e7158a2ffc2cb3d02e77822c38c959b     
n.指责( accusation的名词复数 );指控;控告;(被告发、控告的)罪名
参考例句:
  • There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
  • He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。
3 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
4 withdrawal Cfhwq     
n.取回,提款;撤退,撤军;收回,撤销
参考例句:
  • The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
  • They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。
5 finalized 73d0ccbca69b94ee4cd7fc367a8ac9fc     
vt.完成(finalize的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
6 condemn zpxzp     
vt.谴责,指责;宣判(罪犯),判刑
参考例句:
  • Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他,而有些人谴责他。
  • We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。
7 grievance J6ayX     
n.怨愤,气恼,委屈
参考例句:
  • He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
  • He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。
8 overseen f7b3beb421f0dbe6f0a7d84036f4aa00     
v.监督,监视( oversee的过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
  • It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网
9 defense AxbxB     
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩
参考例句:
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
10 taxpayers 8fa061caeafce8edc9456e95d19c84b4     
纳税人,纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
  • She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。
11 moss X6QzA     
n.苔,藓,地衣
参考例句:
  • Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
  • He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。
12 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
13 opposition eIUxU     
n.反对,敌对
参考例句:
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
14 enlisted 2d04964099d0ec430db1d422c56be9e2     
adj.应募入伍的v.(使)入伍, (使)参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 );获得(帮助或支持)
参考例句:
  • enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
  • He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
15 physically iNix5     
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律
参考例句:
  • He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服,心绪也很乱。
  • Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

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