President Donald J. Trump’s signing of a controversial executive order Thursday was met with immediate criticism from areas of higher education, particularly aspects intended to address a perception that some schools are intolerant of conservative political views.
Research grants and other federal money, though not student aid, could be withheld from schools judged to have not evenly upheld free speech and other First Amendment rights of students and faculty.
“Under this executive order, politically-appointed department and agency heads have been directed to take action that could, as President Trump suggested, strip or block federal research funding from universities they subjectively believe aren’t adequately permitting the diverse debate of ideas,” said Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. “While enforcement could be challenged in court, this executive order is deeply disturbing on many levels.”
The order:
· States that public colleges and universities are expected to uphold the First Amendment rights of those who are on or visit their campuses and that private schools are expected to comply with their stated institutional policies on freedom of speech.
· Directs a dozen grant-making federal agencies to coordinate with the Office of Management and Budget to certify that colleges receiving federal research money comply with federal laws and regulations relative to free academic inquiry. Those agencies are the departments of Education, Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Transportation, and Energy, and the National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency and NASA.
· Directs the Education Department to publish program-level data regarding student outcomes such as debt, loan repayment rates, default rates and earnings in the College Scorecard.
