Lisa Blunt Rochester Demands Equal Access Protections For Students To The Office Of Civil Rights

2 days ago

During last week's Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) discussed an amendment regarding Office of Civil Rights protections.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for the recognition. I call up amendment number

00:06three. Senator shall proceed. This amendment is something that I think all

00:15of us can agree on. It's simple. The Protecting Students on Campus Act would

00:19create a public awareness campaign for submitting civil rights complaints at

00:24institutions of higher education. And my amendment would assure that the

00:29campaign is accessible and ADA compliant. If we want students to be able to submit

00:35complaints, we need to make sure that all students can do so equally. That means

00:40creating campaign materials with Braille or audio accompaniments for visually

00:44impaired students. It means ramps to the Office of Civil Rights on college campuses

00:49for students who use mobility aids. It means ASL interpreters in those offices for

00:56students who are deaf or hard of hearing. It means universal design with

01:00accessibility in mind. I'm sure my colleagues want to protect access to

01:04civil rights for all students and I urge all of you to support this amendment. I

01:09ask for the yays and nays and I yield back. This is a common sense amendment

01:12ensuring all students will be able to understand and access public awareness

01:16campaign for their Title VI rights. I thank Senator Blunt Rochester for this

01:21thoughtful and constructive amendment. I shall be voting yes. I ask for the clerk to

01:25call the roll. Senator Paul? Senator Paul is a yes by proxy. Senator Collins? Yes by proxy. Senator

01:36Murkowski? Senator Mullin? Senator Marshall? Yes by proxy. Senator Scott? Yes by proxy. Senator Hawley? Yes by proxy.

01:50Senator Turberville? Yes by proxy. Senator Banks? Yes by proxy. Senator Houston? Yes by proxy. Senator Moody? Yes by proxy. Senator Sanders? Aye.

02:01Senator Murray? Aye. By proxy. Senator Baldwin? Aye. By proxy. Senator Murphy? Aye. Senator Kaine? Aye. By proxy. Senator Hassan? Aye. Senator Hickenlooper? Aye.