Tag Archives: education

The Associated Press reports: As a condition for receiving federal money, the Trump administration is ordering K-12 schools to certify that they are following federal civil rights laws and eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion practices. A notice sent Thursday by the Education Department gives states and schools 10 days to sign and return the certification. It’s the latest escalation against …

Politico reports: The Trump administration on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to cut hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training. A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the cuts, finding they were already affecting training programs aimed at addressing a nationwide teacher shortage. An appeals court turned away a plea from the administration to allow them …

The Associated Press reports: Governors in several Republican-led states are pressing the Trump administration to cut strings attached to their federal education money, a goal conservatives have long dreamed of that now appears within reach as President Donald Trump moves to dismantle the Education Department. Iowa put itself forward as a test case this month, asking the Education Department to …

The Idaho State Journal reports: West Ada School District has recently come under fire after a KTVB story highlighted Lewis and Clark Middle School teacher Sarah Inama, who was asked to remove signs and posters promoting inclusivity from her classroom. The signs share the message that all students are welcome and feature hands of different skin colors and a series …

The Associated Press reports: The Senate voted late Monday to confirm former wrestling executive Linda McMahon as the nation’s education chief, a role that places her atop a department that President Donald Trump has vilified and vowed to dismantle. McMahon will face the competing tasks of winding down the department while also escalating efforts to achieve Trump’s agenda. At the …

Politico reports: The Education Department is offering a buyout of up to $25,000 to most of its employees, according to a department-wide email obtained by POLITICO. Employees have until Monday at 11:59 p.m. to make a decision, Jacqueline Clay, a chief human capital officer, wrote Friday afternoon. “This is a one time offer in advance of a very significant Reduction …

Rolling Stone reports: Donald Trump’s Department of Education has launched a new portal for Americans to rat out the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at their local public schools. The portal, called EndDEI.ed.gov, debuted with a press release that featured no government authorities, but rather a quote from a co-founder of the reactionary group Moms for Liberty, which is infamous …

The Texas Tribune reports: A top Texas senator filed legislation Monday that would extend the state’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to K-12 public schools. Sen. Brandon Creighton, the Conroe Republican who chairs the Senate Committee on Education K-16, introduced both Senate Bill 12 and Senate Bill 1565 after Gov. Greg Abbott expressed support in his State of …

First, a message from the Education Trust: Her background underscores why she is unfit for this role. As the former head of the Small Business Administration in Trump’s first term, McMahon approached governance through a corporate lens, prioritizing budget cuts and deregulation over public service. Her leadership at the America First Policy Institute — a think tank committed to advancing …

Reuters reports: A U.S. judge has rejected a bid to bar the government downsizing team created by President Donald Trump and spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk from accessing internal systems in the U.S. Department of Education that house federal student financial aid information concerning millions of Americans. Washington-based U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss declined to issue a temporary restraining order …

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports: Late Friday night, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) put colleges on notice: stamp out all race-conscious policies and programming immediately or risk losing federal funding. In a Dear Colleague letter, Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, wrote that “institutions’ embrace of pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and …

The New York Times reports: Linda McMahon and her husband, from whom she is separated, were the sixth-largest donors to Mr. Trump during his 2024 campaign, funneling more than $20 million into Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign and to associated PACs, according to data compiled by Open Secrets. She personally gave over $360,000 to help support Mr. Trump’s previous presidential campaign …

CNN reports: The firings mark the first from the Trump administration as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE aim to dramatically shrink the federal workforce. Until now, federal employees across all government agencies had only been placed on paid administrative leave. A form letter sent to Department of Education employees, obtained by CNN, informing them of their termination stated: …

The New York Post reports: President Trump may use his executive powers to gut the Department of Education and then push for legislation to abolish it as part of his administration’s efforts to shrink the size of government, according to a report. Trump administration officials are reportedly in talks about using an executive order to shut down nearly all of …

NBC News reports: Dozens of employees who attended a diversity training course that former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos [photo] encouraged during President Donald Trump’s first administration have been placed on paid leave as part of Trump’s targeting of DEI programs, a union official told NBC News. Sheria Smith, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents hundreds …

USA Today reports: President Joe Biden on Tuesday enacted the first federal anti-hazing law, marking the end of a yearslong push by victims’ families for more transparency and accountability on college campuses. The Stop Campus Hazing Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in September and the U.S. Senate this month, requires universities to start collecting hazing statistics to …

Little Rock’s Fox affiliate reports: Crawford County is facing ongoing lawsuits over removing LGBTQ books from children’s library sections, costing taxpayers nearly $500,000 in legal defense. The dispute could result in an additional $118,000 in legal fees, potentially affecting the library system’s budget. Van Buren resident Dr. Jeff Hamby and Rudy resident John Riordan led the charge, calling for the …

USA Today reports: Multiple efforts that supported giving parents public funds to spend on private or alternative schools fared poorly in the 2024 election. Voters rejected separate proposals in Colorado and Kentucky aiming to add language supporting school choice, an issue that has divided parents and school staffers across the nation for years, to their states’ constitutions. And voters in …

Politico reports: Florida’s public universities are purging the list of general education courses they will offer next year to fall in line with a state law pushed for by Gov. Ron DeSantis targeting “woke ideologies” in higher education. The state’s involvement in a curriculum process — which has historically been left to universities — is riling academics and students who …

The Oklahoman reports: The Tishomingo Public Schools superintendent issued an apology Thursday and canceled Friday’s homecoming activities and football game after a photo of six high school students displaying a racial slur went viral on social media. The image depicts six Tishomingo High School boys wearing Scrabble tiles spelling out a racial slur, an action that the school district’s superintendent, …