United States Senate
PATTY MURRAY, WASHINGTON, CHAIR BERNARD SANDERS (I), VERMONT RICHARD BURR, NORTH CAROLINA ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., PENNSYLVANIA RAND PAUL, KENTUCKY TAMMY BALDWIN, WISCONSIN SUSAN M. COLLINS, MAINE CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, CONNECTICUT BILL CASSIDY, LOUISIANA TIM KAINE, VIRGINIA LISA MURKOWSKI, ALASKA MARGARET WOOD HASSAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE MIKE BRAUN, INDIANA TINA SMITH, MINNESOTA ROGER MARSHALL, KANSAS United States Senate JACKY ROSEN, NEVADA TIM SCOTT, SOUTH CAROLINA BEN RAY LUJÁN, NEW MEXICO MITT ROMNEY, UTAH COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, JOHN HICKENLOOPER, COLORADO TOMMY TUBERVILLE, ALABAMA JERRY MORAN, KANSAS LABOR, AND PENSIONS EVAN T. SCHATZ, STAFF DIRECTOR WASHINGTON, DC 20510–6300 DAVID P. CLEARY, REPUBLICAN STAFF DIRECTOR http://help.senate.gov April 15, 2021 The Honorable Miguel Cardona Secretary of Education U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20202 Dear Secretary Cardona: I write to encourage the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) to take steps to ensure that K-12 schools and institutions of higher education (“IHEs”) are addressing instances of harassment on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin, including those targeted at Asian- American and Pacific Islander (“AAPI”) students and staff. I urge the Department to continue taking proactive steps to ensure that all K-12 schools and IHEs are aware of the Department’s existing guidance regarding harassment and discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin. Recent reporting has shed light on a trend of AAPI families choosing to keep their students in distance education at disproportionally higher rates compared to other racial and ethnic groups.1 Though each family’s situation is unique, it is increasingly clear that at least some of these families are worried about the rise of bullying, harassment, and violence targeted at AAPI communities and individuals that may become more prevalent as schools safely reopen for in- person instruction.
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