The United States Department of Education is facing accusations of unfairly targeting Christian colleges and universities in an alleged effort to promote a “woke agenda.”
The American Principles Project (APP), a conservative think tank, released a report earlier this month highlighting actions taken by the department’s Office of Enforcement against Christian institutions.
The report notes that while Christian colleges and universities account for fewer than 10% of students in the U.S., they represent roughly 70% of penalties imposed by the Office of Enforcement. APP Policy Director Jon Schweppe, the report’s author, claimed, “This is an example of the Biden administration weaponizing every part of the federal government to target their opponents.”
Schweppe emphasized, “As our report details, the Biden-Harris Department of Education has been engaged in a long-running scheme to punish Christian colleges that are ideologically opposed to the left’s agenda. The unfair targeting of these institutions has been egregious, and it needs to stop immediately.”
In response to the allegations, a spokesperson for the Department of Education told the Christian Post that they denied the claims in the APP report, stating, “A school’s religious affiliation or nonprofit status has absolutely no bearing on our oversight and enforcement actions.”
The spokesperson further added, “Our top priority is protecting safety and academic opportunity for all students at institutions of higher education. The data in the APP report itself pushes a false narrative by distorting information released publicly by the Department.”
The APP report emerges as President-elect Donald Trump has expressed a desire to downsize or potentially eliminate the Education Department upon taking office next year. “We want federal education dollars to follow the student, rather than propping up a bloated and radical bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. We want to close the federal Department of Education,” Trump stated in October, as quoted by USA Today.
Additionally, Republican Sen. Mike Rounds(South Dakota), has introduced a bill aimed at abolishing the Education Department, it would require a supermajority in the Senate to pass.
