Dept. Of Education Spent $20.3 Million On 10 Equity Centers To Fight The ‘Isms’

(CNSNews.com) - The Department of Education (DOE) spent $20,396,892 over the last three years to set up and staff 10 Equity Assistance Centers (EACs) across the United States that work with school districts and state boards of education to fight “all of the –isms, like racism, ableism, orientation, etc.,” Velma Cobb, director of the EAC at Touro College in Lower Manhattan, told CNSNews.com.

The EACs cover 10 regions throughout the United States, and are funded under Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. DOE spent $6,575,460 on EACs in 2013, $6,938,817 in 2012, and $6,882,615 in 2011.

Jenelle Leonard, director of Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (OESE) School Support and Rural Programs, which provides oversight for the EACs, told CNSNews.com that the facilities “offer technical assistance to school districts, state education agencies, and others who seek to resolve civil rights conflicts and promote social justice and equity.”

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