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Executive Order 12320 Constitutional Fidelity (+0.29)

Executive Order 12320—Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan
•
Tuesday, September 15, 1981
•
3 min read (667 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Ronald Reagan on 1981-09-15, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Historically Black Colleges and Universities." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: An early statesman would view this measure favorably under Article II, Section 3 (the Take Care Clause). The President operates strictly within the ambit of executing established laws and supervising departmental subordinates, respecting the supremacy of the legislative branch without fabricating novel statutory obligations.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ The Secretary of Education shall supervise annually the development of a Federal program designed to achieve a significant increase in the participation by historically Black colleges and universities in Federally sponsored programs.
▪ This program shall seek to identify, reduce, and eliminate barriers which may have unfairly resulted in reduced participation in, and reduced benefits from, Federally sponsored programs.
▪ Annually, each Executive Department and those Executive agencies designated by the Secretary of Education shall establish annual plans to increase the ability of historically Black colleges and universities to participate in Federally sponsored programs.
▪ These plans shall consist of measurable objectives of proposed agency actions to fulfill this Order and shall be submitted at such time and in such form as the Secretary of Education shall designate.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Total Words
667
4,470 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
19.4
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.29
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 12320, Ronald Reagan (Sep 15, 1981). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12320-historically-black-colleges-and-universities.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution of the United States of America, in order to advance the development of human potential, to strengthen the capacity of historically Black colleges and universities to provide quality education, and to overcome the effects of discriminatory treatment, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. The Secretary of Education shall supervise annually the development of a Federal program designed to achieve a significant increase in the participation by historically Black colleges and universities in Federally sponsored programs. This program shall seek to identify, reduce, and eliminate barriers which may have unfairly resulted in reduced participation in, and reduced benefits from, Federally sponsored programs. This program will also seek to involve private sector institutions in strengthening historically Black colleges. Sec. 2. Annually, each Executive Department and those Executive agencies designated by the Secretary of Education shall establish annual plans to increase the ability of historically Black colleges and universities to participate in Federally sponsored programs. These plans shall consist of measurable objectives of proposed agency actions to fulfill this Order and shall be submitted at such time and in such form as the Secretary of Education shall designate. In consultation with participating Executive agencies, the Secretary of Education shall undertake a review of these plans and develop an integrated Annual Federal Plan for Assistance to Historically Black Colleges for consideration by the President and the Cabinet Council on Human Resources (composed of the Vice President, the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, and Education, the Attorney General, the Counselor to the President, and the White House Chief of Staff). Sec. 3. Each participating agency shall submit to the Secretary of Education a midyear progress report of its achievement of its plan and at the end of the year an Annual Performance Report which shall specify agency performance of its measurable objectives. Sec. 4. Prior to the development of the First Annual Federal Plan, the Secretary of Education shall supervise a special review by every Executive agency of its programs to determine the extent to which historically Black colleges and universities are given an equal opportunity to participate in Federally sponsored programs. This review will examine unintended regulatory barriers, determine the adequacy of the announcement of programmatic opportunities of interest to these colleges, and identify ways of eliminating inequities and disadvantages. Sec. 5. The Secretary of Education shall ensure that each president of a historically Black college or university is given the opportunity to comment on the proposed Annual Federal Plan prior to its consideration by the President, the Vice President, and the Cabinet Council on Human Resources. Sec. 6. The Secretary of Education, to the extent permitted by law, shall stimulate initiatives by private sector businesses and institutions to strengthen historically Black colleges and universities, including efforts to further improve their management, financial structure, and research. Sec. 7. The Secretary of Education shall submit to the President, the Vice President, and the Cabinet Council on Human Resources an Annual Federal Performance Report on Executive Agency Actions to Assist Historically Black Colleges. The report shall include the performance appraisals of agency actions during the preceding year to assist historically Black colleges and universities. The report will also include any appropriate recommendations for improving the Federal response directed by this Order. Sec. 8. The special review provided for in Section 4 shall take place not later than November 1, 1981. Participating Executive agencies shall submit their annual plans to the Secretary of Education not later than January 15, 1982. The first Annual Federal Plan for Assistance to Historically Black Colleges developed by the Secretary of Education shall be ready for consideration by the President, the Vice President, and the Cabinet Council on Human Resources not later than March 31, 1982. Sec. 9. Executive Order No. 12232 of August 8, 1980, is revoked. RONALD REAGAN The White House, September 15, 1981. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 1:25 p.m., September 15, 1981]