Public Life on the Line

The second episode of our special “Academic Freedom on the Line” podcast hosted by CDAF fellow Vineeta Singh and sponsored by “AAUP Presents” dives into the vital role of the Department of Education and the federal government to both K-12 and higher education.

Vineeta talks with two experts, Dr. Stephanie Hall, a fellow at the Student Borrower Protection Center and former head of higher ed policy at the Center for American Progress, and Dr. Barrett Taylor, professor and coordinator of the higher education program at the University of North Texas, and a CDAF fellow.

At its core, the Department of Education is tasked with protecting the civil rights of students and providing equitable access to educational opportunities. It has been under attack for decades as part of a larger program to privatize higher education. Dr. Hall argues that these persistent attacks on the Department of Education and education institutions in general are attacks on “public life.”

Once again we see that “academic freedom” isn’t a limited privilege for a protected class, but a set of principles that allows us to live freely in a democratic society.

Show links and additional reading from Academic Freedom on the Line

Links:

• Stephanie Hall: What Will Happen to Your Student Loans if Trump Closes the Department of Education? | Teen Vogue

• Dear Colleague Letter

• Legal threat to Section 504 sets precedent for civil rights attacks, advocates say

• CDAF Fact Sheet on Antisemitism Executive Order

• Stephanie Hall: Invasion of the College Snatchers

• Trump Can’t Legally Dismantle the Department of Education, a CDAF Action report.

• Introductory episode for Academic Freedom on the Line, a podcast.

The views expressed in this newsletter are those of individual contributors and not those of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) or the AAUP’s Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom.