Federal Overreach . . .

From CNYCentral out of Syracuse: 55 colleges, including 4 from NY, facing sex assault investigations

55 colleges are facing Title IX sexual assault investigations, and four of them are in New York, according to the Education Department.

This, just two days after the White House task force promised government transparency on sexual assault in higher education. . . . “We are making this list available in an effort to bring more transparency to our enforcement work and to foster better public awareness of civil rights,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon said. . . .

The four NY institutions are Hunter, Hobart & William Smith, Sarah Lawrence, and SUNY Binghamton. . . . But don't let that distract you from the real issue here . . .

While people talk about what it is about these institutions that gives cause to the investigations, no one seems to be asking how sexual assault -- a crime in probably every locality and state where the institutions are located -- became a FEDERAL ISSUE?

The Washington Post version of the story fills in the missing detail . . .

The [US Department of Education]’s Office for Civil Rights is examining complaints it received from individuals on campuses and those it discovered as part of its regular efforts to see if schools are in compliance with the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender at schools that receive federal funding.

So if a student gets sexually assaulted at a school that is NOT receiving federal funding, there is NO Title IX violation!

We have here a bureaucracy, the Dept. of Education, that is alleged to be focused on education injecting itself into what are local and/or state crime prevention/enforcement matters. No doubt there are lawyers, investigators, administrative proceedings, etc that goes with this.   Compounding this overlap with state penal authority, the US Dept. of Education is, itself, an unnecessary and Constitutionally unauthorized involvement with State's matters, because education was never made the responsibility of the Federal Government.

What allows the Federal Government to inject itself into state and local matters?  Federal Dollars!  With the taxpayers going into hock 40 cents for each dollar spent.

The Constitution gives the Federal Government specific responsibilities:  defense, border security, international trade regulation, etc. Remaining matters were reserved to the States and the People. Cutting the Federal government out of the non-essential matters will result in less debt, better focus on Federal responsibilities, non-duplication with lower levels of government, and decisions being made closer to the people affected (which hopefully will be better ones).

As Mies van der Rohe once said, "Less is more."