Tag Archives: education

Trump Admin Suspends $584M In Grants For UCLA

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration has suspended $584 million in federal grants for UCLA, nearly double what was previously thought, the school’s chancellor announced Wednesday. UCLA is the first public university whose federal grants have been targeted by the administration over allegations of civil rights violations related to antisemitism and affirmative action. The Trump administration has frozen or …

Read More »

Tennessee School District To Teach “Work Ethic” By Refusing To Accept Doctor’s Notes To Excuse Absences

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, …

Read More »

WH Unfreezes $1.3B In School Funds After Dems Sue

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration said Friday that it would release $1.3 billion in frozen federal funding for after-school programs across the country, after facing growing bipartisan pressure. The Trump administration, which wants to slash spending and reduce the federal government’s role in education, had abruptly withheld the money, along with billions in other education dollars. It …

Read More »

Blue States Sue Over $6B In Frozen Education Funding

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, …

Read More »

DOE Dismissed Thousands Of Civil Rights Complaints

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 …

Read More »

175+ Dems Join NAACP Lawsuit On Dismantling DOE

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 …

Read More »

Trump Admin Axes $6B In Summer School Funding

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 …

Read More »

Supreme Court Rules For Haters On LGBTQ Books

From an April Washington Post report: The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared poised to side with a group of religious parents seeking to pull their children from public school lessons with LGBTQ+-themed books — a significant expansion of the long-standing practice of allowing opt outs for reproductive health classes. The lawsuit over story time and books with titles such as …

Read More »

OK Schools Chief Calls Education Ranking “Fake News”

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 …

Read More »

Today: SCOTUS Hears Case On Christian Charter School

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 …

Read More »

Head Start Groups Sue Trump Admin Over Defunding

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 …

Read More »

19 Blue States Sue Over DEI Threat To Funding Schools

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 …

Read More »

Judge Blocks Order Defunding Schools Over Diversity

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. …

Read More »

Trump Signs Anti-DEI Order On School Discipline

The education site Chalkbeat reports: President Donald Trump signed executive orders Wednesday that aim to promote stricter school discipline and discourage schools from considering whether discipline policies have a greater impact on students of color. Under former President Barack Obama, the Education Department warned schools that policies that led to students of certain racial groups being suspended or expelled at …

Read More »

SCOTUS Likely To Side With Anti-LGBTQ Parents

The Washington Post reports: The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared poised to side with a group of religious parents seeking to pull their children from public school lessons with LGBTQ+-themed books — a significant expansion of the long-standing practice of allowing opt outs for reproductive health classes. The lawsuit over story time and books with titles such as “Uncle Bobby’s …

Read More »

Proposed Budget Eliminates Funding For Head Start

CNN reports: The Trump administration is considering eliminating funding for two key federal programs that help millions of low-income Americans educate their young children and heat their homes. A draft of President Donald Trump’s budget proposal for the coming fiscal year calls for ending support for Head Start, which provides early childhood education and other services to nearly 800,000 kids, …

Read More »

Canadian Colleges See Surge In American Applicants

Reuters reports: More students living in the United States are applying to Canadian universities or expressing interest in studying north of the border as U.S. President Donald Trump cuts federal funding to universities and revokes foreign student visas. Officials at the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus said the school reported a 27% jump in graduate applications as of March …

Read More »

A1 Steak Sauce Seizes Opportunity After Education Secretary Repeatedly Calls Artificial Intelligence “A1”

Fast Company reports: On a panel this week, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, the former WWE CEO who is now charged with making sweeping decisions for 100 million American school children, repeatedly referred to AI technology as “A1.” For McMahon, who was speaking at a summit for educators, it was an embarrassing mistake. But for Kraft Heinz’s A.1. steak …

Read More »

Texas Bill Would Force Colleges To Rewrite History

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas senators could vote this week on a bill that would drastically limit how the state’s public universities teach their students about history, race and inequality. Senate Bill 37 would also create a way to file complaints about universities that higher ed experts say could threaten their funding and create a profound chilling effect. If the …

Read More »

NY State Won’t Comply With Anti-DEI Education Edict

The Associated Press reports: New York state officials have told the Trump administration that they will not comply with its demands to end diversity, equity and inclusion practices in public schools, despite the administration’s threats to terminate federal education funding. Daniel Morton-Bentley, counsel and deputy commissioner of the state Department of Education, said in a letter dated Friday to the …

Read More »