LDF Urges Education Department to Abandon Rule Eliminating Crucial Regulations for Equity Assistance Centers

Read a PDF of our statement here.

On July 24, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) submitted a public comment to the U.S. Department of Education in strong opposition to a newly proposed rule to rescind the Equity Assistance Center (EAC) Program regulations.

The promise of Brown v. Board of Education was that Black students would no longer be subject to a system of segregation that deprives them of equal educational opportunities. However, school segregation is still incredibly pervasive in the United States and problems of discrimination in schools are widespread.

For the last half century, the EAC Program has been a critical part of the desegregation efforts seeking to make the promise of Brown a reality. The EAC Program funds specialized organizations that offer technical assistance to help desegregate schools and ensure compliance with federal civil rights laws. Their work has provided decades of expertise, institutional knowledge, and swift assistance for students. The Department's proposed rule ignores the inherent value that EACs provide.

"Adoption of the administration's proposal to rescind the EAC Program would drastically fail students nationwide. EACs deliver proven expertise and tailored assistance to address a host of civil rights compliance problems in schools," said Ray Li, Policy Counsel at LDF. "The administration's attack on this program is part of a coordinated effort to weaken civil rights infrastructure, impede desegregation, and make schools less safe and accessible for Black students. Eliminating EACs' crucial role in maintaining an equitable public education system is a disastrous mistake in the making."

Learn more about LDF's desegregation work here.

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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF)is the nation's first civil rights legal organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957, though it was founded under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall while he was at the NAACP. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute (TMI) is a division of LDF that undertakes innovative research and houses LDF's archive. In all media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF (do not include NAACP) and refer to the Institute as LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute or TMI.