assistant editor and reporter for Education Week
Assistant editor and reporter for Education Week, an independent national newspaper on K-12 education
PROFILE
Andrew Trotter
Guest
FROM Andrew Trotter
To the Point
Racial Balance in Public Schools Thirty-nine years after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King , America is still arguing about how to achieve racial equality. In the 1950's, US Supreme Court decisions provided a legal rationale for the civil rights movement and Dr. King. Key among those was Brown versus the Board of Education , which outlawed school segregation on the grounds that separate schools were inherently unequal. Forced busing is a thing of the past, but racial preferences are still used in many places to accomplish ethnic diversity. The current US Supreme Court has been asked to outlaw voluntary affirmative-action plans in Seattle, Washington and Louisville, Kentucky . Does the Constitution require that government be "color blind" or does "equal opportunity" mandate that race be a factor in school admissions? We speak with journalists, educators, public policy experts, civil rights activists and others.
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To the Point
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
To the Point
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.