Arne Duncan

Arne Duncan

Arne Duncan

Obama appointment

In January 2009, Duncan was nominated by the Obama administration for the position of Secretary in the Department of Education and confirmed in January 2009.

Defund the Police

From an article dated September 23, 2020:

Former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is proposing that the city of Chicago not replace police who quit or retire and use the money for anti-violence programs like the one he runs.

That could save lives in more ways than one, he says.

Duncan now runs Chicago CRED (Creating Real Economic Destiny), an anti-violence group working with young people at risk. He told a City Club of Chicago that society needs the police.

But, he said Wednesday, the city should reduce its number of police officers in order to pay for more outreach workers, life coaches and clinicians.

There’s less crime in other cities but more cops here, Duncan said: “Chicago has twice as many police as L.A. per citizen — twice as many, but still three times the level of violence; almost exactly the same number as police per citizen as New York but five times the level of violence.”

A video with Malik Tiger, who left gun crimes behind with help from CRED, showed efforts can work. A life coach helped reshape his future.

Duncan advocates redirecting money that would replace police who leave or retire. He says $150 million to $200 million out of a $1.6 billion police budget could make a difference.

Hu Jintao dinner

In January 2011, Chinese president Hu Jintao visited Washington DC for a high-profile summit. He had a red carpet rolled out for him and was greeted by Vice President Joe Biden at the airport. Highlights of the visit included a private dinner with President Barack Obama one night and a big state dinner the next.

Among those of Chinese descent that were present at the dinner were the newly inaugurated Chinese-American mayors of San Francisco and Oakland, California — Edwin Lee and Jean Quan — Energy Secretary Steven Chu, California Rep. Judy Chu, the first Chinese-American woman elected to Congress. Other members of Obama's Cabinet with seats at the table included Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was the only top congressional leader to accept an invitation.

Social Justice Solidarity High School

The Wall Street Journal reported in 2008 about Arne Duncan's interest in creating a high school exclusively for gay teens.

..."In selecting Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan as his education secretary Tuesday, President-elect Barack Obama aimed to satisfy the interests of reform-minded activists and the powerful teachers' unions with an open-minded official. But Duncan's openness to new ideas caused a stir in Chicago just last month when he proposed a high school designed for gay students. Aimed at keeping students from being bullied and ostracized, Duncan pitched the idea of an explicitly gay-friendly school, where half of the students were expected to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The proposal met with misgivings from Chicago Mayor Richard Daley - traditionally an advocate for gay and lesbian issues - as well as ministers, gay activists and social conservatives opposed to segregating gay students. As the school board's Nov. 18 vote approached, designers of the Social Justice Solidarity High School tried to broaden its mission, pitching the campus as a refuge for bullied youths in general and removing references to sexual orientation in the proposal. But they withdrew their proposal at the last minute, pledging to return with another version of the plan in time for an opening in the fall of 2010. Time will tell if the issue re-emerges for Duncan, too, as he faces confirmation hearings in the Senate next year.

Arne Duncan Urges School Districts to Support Gay-Straight Alliance Clubs

A letter dated June 14, 2022 from then-Dept of Education head Arne Duncan related to Gay-Straight Alliance clubs, which were founded in 1988 at Concord Academy in Massachusetts by his colleague Kevin Jennings, who was Assistant Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education at the time (These clubs are now widely referred to as "Gender Sexuality Alliance" clubs) was touted by groups such as Equality Florida: See newspaper report here:

Today, United States Education Secretary Arne Duncan released a letter stressing the importance of Gay-Straight Alliance Clubs (GSAs) in promoting an atmosphere of understanding and acceptance for LGBTQ students. The letter cites the impact of GSAs in helping to quell anti-LGBTQ harassment and bullying.

ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION

Key Policy Letters from the Education Secretary and Deputy Secretary

June 14, 2011

Dear Colleagues:

Harassment and bullying are serious problems in our schools, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students are the targets of disproportionate shares of these problems. Thirty-two percent of students aged 12-18 experienced verbal or physical bullying during the 2007-2008 school year;1 and, according to a recent survey, more than 90 percent of LGBT students in grades 6 through 12 reported being verbally harassed — and almost half reported being physically harassed — during the 2008-2009 school year.2 High levels of harassment and bullying correlate with poorer educational outcomes, lower future aspirations, frequent school absenteeism, and lower grade-point averages.3 Recent tragedies involving LGBT students and students perceived to be LGBT only underscore the need for safer schools.

Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) and similar student-initiated groups addressing LGBT issues can play an important role in promoting safer schools and creating more welcoming learning environments. Nationwide, students are forming these groups in part to combat bullying and harassment of LGBT students and to promote understanding and respect in the school community. Although the efforts of these groups focus primarily on the needs of LGBT students, students who have LGBT family members and friends, and students who are perceived to be LGBT, messages of respect, tolerance, and inclusion benefit all our students. By encouraging dialogue and providing supportive resources, these groups can help make schools safe and affirming environments for everyone.

But in spite of the positive effect these groups can have in schools, some such groups have been unlawfully excluded from school grounds, prevented from forming, or denied access to school resources. These same barriers have sometimes been used to target religious and other student groups, leading Congress to pass the Equal Access Act.

In 1984, Congress passed and President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Equal Access Act, requiring public secondary schools to provide equal access for extracurricular clubs. Rooted in principles of equal treatment and freedom of expression, the Act protects student-initiated groups of all types. As one of my predecessors, Secretary Richard W. Riley, pointed out in guidance concerning the Equal Access Act and religious clubs more than a decade ago, we “protect our own freedoms by respecting the freedom of others who differ from us.” By allowing students to discuss difficult issues openly and honestly, in a civil manner, our schools become forums for combating ignorance, bigotry, hatred, and discrimination.

The Act requires public secondary schools to treat all student-initiated groups equally, regardless of the religious, political, philosophical, or other subject matters discussed at their meetings. Its protections apply to groups that address issues relating to LGBT students and matters involving sexual orientation and gender identity, just as they apply to religious and other student groups.

Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s General Counsel, Charles P. Rose, is issuing a set of legal guidelines affirming the principles that prevent unlawful discrimination against any student-initiated groups. We intend for these guidelines to provide schools with the information and resources they need to help ensure that all students, including LGBT and gender nonconforming students, have a safe place to learn, meet, share experiences, and discuss matters that are important to them.

Although specific implementation of the Equal Access Act depends upon contextual circumstances, these guidelines reflect basic obligations imposed on public school officials by the Act and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The general rule, approved by the U.S. Supreme Court, is that a public high school that allows at least one noncurricular student group to meet on school grounds during noninstructional time (e.g., lunch, recess, or before or after school) may not deny similar access to other noncurricular student groups, regardless of the religious, political, philosophical, or other subject matters that the groups address.

I encourage every school district to make sure that its administrators, faculty members, staff, students, and parents are familiar with these principles in order to protect the rights of all students — regardless of religion, political or philosophical views, sexual orientation, or gender identity. I also urge school districts to use the guidelines to develop or improve district policies. In doing so, school officials may find it helpful to explain to the school community that the Equal Access Act requires public schools to afford equal treatment to all noncurricular student organizations, including GSAs and other groups that focus on issues related to LGBT students, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Officials need not endorse any particular student organization, but federal law requires that they afford all student groups the same opportunities to form, to convene on school grounds, and to have access to the same resources available to other student groups.

The process of revising or developing an equal-access policy offers an opportunity for school officials to engage their community in an open dialogue on the equal treatment of all noncurricular student organizations. It is important to remember, therefore, that the Equal Access Act’s requirements are a bare legal minimum. I invite and encourage you to go beyond what the law requires in order to increase students’ sense of belonging in the school and to help students, teachers, and parents recognize the core values behind our principles of free speech. As noted in our October 2010 Dear Colleague Letter and December 2010 guidance regarding anti-bullying policies, I applaud such policies as positive steps toward ensuring equal access to education for all students.

Thank you for your work on behalf of our nation’s children.

Washington Leadership Dialogue

July 2010 By Jane Leung Larson, a delegation of 16 Committee of 100 members led by C-100 Chairman John Chen spent two intense days exchanging views with a number of government officials on U.S.-China relations, Chinese language teaching in the schools, and the unique resources and connections that the Committee brings to the table.

The June 23-24 Washington Leadership Dialogue was organized to give the Committee of 100 an opportunity to hear the concerns of members of Congress and the Administration as well as share observations and recommendations with Washington policy-makers on a variety of issues.

Of special interest was the Committee’s work in the past year with the U.S. State Department at the highest levels (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) to support and promote the USA Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai and build the Pavilion’s most popular exhibit, “The Chinese in America.” Also emphasized was the Committee’s long-time commitment to education, particularly C-100 activities in both northern and southern California to support the teaching of Chinese language and culture in public schools.

Private meetings were held with Jeff Bader (Senior Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council), Chris Lu (Assistant to the President and White House Cabinet Secretary), Kurt Campbell (Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs), Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA), and Senator Daniel Inouye (HI), all of whom have participated in Committee of 100 annual conferences. The Administration’s goal of sending 100,000 American students to China in the next four years was the topic of discussion with a group of top officials from the Departments of Education and State.

The Committee also met with Co-chairs of the House U.S.-China Working Group (Reps. Rick Larsen and Charles Boustany) and members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (Reps. Judy Chu, Mike Honda, and David Wu). One of the topics discussed with the Caucus was a possible Congressional resolution of apology for the Chinese Exclusion Act. A briefing was held with Christina Lagdameo, Deputy Director of the White House Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative co-chaired by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

In addition to Chairman Chen, C-100 members participating in the Dialogue were: C-100 Vice Chairs David Chang, Daniel Chao, Doreen Woo Ho, Ming Chen Hsu, Clarence T. Kwan, Stewart Kwoh, and Cheng Li and members Richard Cheng, Michael Fung, Harry Gee, Jr., Charlie Sie, Benjamin Wu, Debra Wong Yang, Alice Young, and Nancy Yuan. Members came from across the U.S. to join the delegation. Coordinating Dialogue logistics and attending the meetings were C-100 staff members Executive Director Angie Tang, Public Relations Director An Ping, and Program Associate Alice Lin.

On June 23, the Committee also held a dinner to welcome the new Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. (and an old friend of the Committee), Zhang Yesui. Committee of 100 Advisory Council members David M. Lampton and Stapleton Roy also met with the delegation to discuss how the organization can enhance its presence in Washington.

External links

• Duncan biography with the Department of Education