Education

Via press release: Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) initiated a directed investigation into Duke University and the Duke Law Journal for allegedly violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI). This investigation is based on recent reporting alleging that Duke University (Duke) discriminates on the bases of race, color, and/or …

NewsNation reports: One Tennessee school district will no longer accept doctors’ notes to excuse an absence despite objections from parents. Lawrence County School System officials said the school is instituting the policy to teach students work ethic and reliability, saying that students will be expected to go to work sick or injured as adults. With no federally mandated sick leave, …

Politico reports: The Education Department will reject nearly a half-million applications from people seeking to make lower payments on their student loans, according to internal documents obtained by POLITICO. The agency will deny 460,000 federal student loan borrowers who selected the lowest monthly option for a payment plan based on their income. They make up about 31 percent of a …

The Associated Press reports: More than 20 states have sued President Donald Trump’s administration over billions of dollars in frozen funding for after-school and summer programs and other programs. Congress set aside money for the programs to provide academic support, enrichment and child care to mostly low-income families, but President Donald Trump’s administration recently froze the funding. On Monday afternoon, …

Politico reports: The Education Department dismissed civil rights complaints at such a rapid clip this year that former officials and advocates are concerned about a core agency function amid Trump administration plans to make deep staffing cuts. In court documents filed last week, the department disclosed that its Office for Civil Rights dismissed 3,424 complaints between March 11 and June …

ABC News reports: More than 175 Democratic members of Congress have filed an amicus brief opposing the Trump administration’s overhaul of the U.S. Department of Education. “The law couldn’t be clearer: the president does not have the authority to unilaterally abolish the Department of Education,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote in a statement first obtained by ABC News, adding, “Donald Trump …

The Associated Press reports: The administration is withholding more than $6 billion in federal grants for after-school and summer programs, English language instruction, adult literacy and more as part of a review to ensure grants align with President Donald Trump’s priorities. The move leaves states and schools in limbo as they budget for programs this summer and in the upcoming …

The New York Times reports: The leaders of two of the nation’s largest and most influential labor unions have quit their posts in the Democratic National Committee in a major rebuke to the party’s new chairman, Ken Martin. Randi Weingarten, the longtime leader of the American Federation of Teachers and a major voice in Democratic politics, and Lee Saunders, the …

Courthouse News reports: President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court for help dismantling the Department of Education on Friday, pushing the justices to keep nearly 1,400 employees off the government’s payroll despite an unresolved legal dispute. Trump slashed the department’s staff by half in March, spurring a lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James and 20 other states’ attorneys …

The Tennessean reports: Morgan Armstrong, a graduating senior at Tennessee Christian Preparatory School, posted photos on social media of her girlfriend and herself in late April. Days later, the private Cleveland, Tennessee school suspended her for the rest of the school year, banned her from campus and campus events, including her final exams and high school graduation, and terminated Armstrong’s …

The Ohio Capital Journal reports: Kent State University is closing its LGBTQ+ Center, Women’s Center and Student Multicultural Center because of a new state law banning diversity efforts that is set to take effect at the end of the month. Kent State’s LBGTQ+ Living-Learning Community will cease to exist because of Senate Bill 1 going into effect, according to a …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order to shut down the Education Department and ordered the agency to reinstate employees who were fired in mass layoffs. U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump administration from carrying out two plans announced in March that sought to …

Bloomberg Law reports: The US Supreme Court divided evenly in a major case over the separation of religion and government, thwarting an effort in Oklahoma to create the nation’s first faith-based charter school. The 4-4 split doesn’t set a nationwide precedent, and it leaves open the question of whether states with taxpayer-funded charter school programs are constitutionally required to incorporate …

Oklahoma City’s NBC affiliate reports: Superintendent Ryan Walters called the media late Thursday for a Friday morning press conference after lawmakers rejected several of his budget requests. The agreed-upon budget from lawmakers this week had the Oklahoma State Department of Education realize they wouldn’t get $3 million for “Bibles in every classroom” and $500,000 for concealed carry training, among other …

NBC News reports: A case that could weaken the separation of church and state goes before the Supreme Court on Wednesday as the justices consider whether Oklahoma can approve the first-ever religious public charter school. Although the oral argument concerns only St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would operate online throughout the state with a remit to promote …

Scripps News reports: A coalition of parents and education providers have filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over its proposed cuts to the federally-funded Head Start program providing free services to hundreds of thousands of children from low-income families. The lawsuit, filed in the Western District of Washington, accuses the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of …

Via press release from the White House: Today, the U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into the New York Department of Education, Board of Regents for a reported violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will assess whether New York’s threat to withhold funding if the Massapequa School District does not …

Politico reports: The lawsuit, led by California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York, argues that an ultimatum delivered by the U.S. Department of Education earlier this month to comply with the Trump administration’s interpretation of federal anti-discrimination law was unconstitutional and unlawful. Under the directive, states are required to certify their schools will adhere to a 2023 Supreme Court ruling …

Reuters reports: The Trump Administration said in an executive order on Wednesday that it is considering revoking the American Bar Association’s status as the federally recognized accreditor of law schools, a change that could impact lawyer licensing, student loans and attorney mobility, legal education experts said. Trump said he was directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to assess whether to suspend …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Thursday blocked Trump administration directives that threatened to cut federal funding for public schools with diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the National Education Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, which accused the Republican administration of violating teachers’ due process and First Amendment rights. …