Education Secretary Miguel Cardona condemned what he deemed the “unacceptable” behavior of protesters on college campuses across the country.
“I think what’s happening on our campuses is abhorrent,” Cardona told Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, RW.Va., at the Senate’s budget requests hearing for fiscal year 2025 on Tuesday. “It’s unacceptable and we’re committed as a Department of Education to adhere to Title VI enforcement.”
The secretary said the department could reduce federal funds for schools that violate Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin.
Pressed on whether the department was acting to eliminate antisemitism from college campuses amid the growing unrest, particularly at Columbia University, Cardona said the department is reviewing 137 discrimination investigations at Columbia.
He maintained campus safety is of “utmost importance.”
“I wouldn’t want to send my child to campus if I feel that they’re not safe,” he said. “That’s the most important thing to me — to make sure that our kids are safe on campus.”
-ABC News’ Arthur Jones II
