US Dept. of Education Permitting
Racism and Discrimination!

An Open Letter to President George W. Bush:

February 16, 2001

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC  20500

Dear Mr. President:

The American Society for Ethics in Education has just learned that a national moratorium has been placed on ALL resolution letters regarding complaints filed during the past year with the United States Department of Education (USDE), Office for Civil Rights*.  This is an outrage in that the intentional harm and discrimination inflicted upon thousands of American children, as a direct result of the corruption that exists in many American schools, is being allowed to continue. Furthermore, teachers whose lives and careers have literally been destroyed by these same school districts, for having the integrity to stand up for the civil rights of their students, are being subjected to further harm by the delays caused by the USDE’s current actions.

ASEE has, to date, been impressed with your willingness to share your views with our organization and that you have not allowed yourself to become a mere puppet of the National Education Association, as were both our previous President and your campaign opponent, Al Gore. ASEE also believes that our previous President’s ethical behavior (or lack thereof) is destined to become his legacy and hopes that you will bring integrity back into the White House. As noted on the ASEE web site, President Bill Clinton granted our nation’s highest honor, the National Blue Ribbon Award, to one school that was investigated by OCR for two years, during his presidency, on charges of racial segregation and discrimination.  Please don’t allow the racism and discrimination that Bill Clinton honored to continue.

ASEE urges you to demand an immediate lift on the USDE’s pernicious moratorium on OCR complaint resolutions and make the necessary changes within the USDE to bring justice to those in our schools that harm children and their teachers.

Finally, ASEE would like to urge all American citizens to write or call U.S. Secretary of Education, Dr. Roderick Paige at:

U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-0498
1 (800) 872-5327 – Voice
1 ( 202) 401-0596 - FAX

to voice their outrage at this atrocity. Please stop the harm being done in American schools NOW; our nation’s future depends upon your leadership.

* This was brought to ASEE’s attention while trying to obtain information on the status of a charge of retaliation brought against a school district by a teacher who was severely harassed when he reported a school to the United States Department of Education (USDE), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on charges of intentionally segregating children by race and refusing to assist children with special needs. This information was provided by OCR’s San Francisco Regional Office regarding docket number 09-00-1234.