Author: BelieveAgain

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear two cases involving highly charged political speech connected to public schools. One involved a teacher who was dismissed over social media posts that her school district deemed derogatory and disruptive. The other centered on a student who says he was bullied and harassed by classmates and teachers after wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat.In the teacher’s case, Justice Clarence Thomas agreed with the decision to deny review on procedural grounds, but suggested that in a future case, the court should clarify that school districts and other public employers may not…

The abrupt discontinuation of roughly $1 billion in federal mental health funding for schools will cause layoffs of school-based mental health staff, dry up scholarships for college students who want to be mental health professionals in K-12 schools, and worsen outcomes for hundreds of thousands of students, a coalition of Democratic state officials argue in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education filed this week.The lawsuit, filed by 16 states in federal court in Seattle on Monday, challenges the department’s April 30 announcement that it would stop funding about $1 billion in mental health grants awarded during the Biden…

The U.S. Department of Education told states on Monday afternoon that it would not deliver nearly $7 billion from seven K-12 education programs on July 1, as federal law requires.Five of the programs are formula funding streams that support K-12 school districts, as well as organizations that partner with schools to offer before- and after-school programs. The remaining two support efforts at schools, community colleges, and other organizations to offer adult education—including for literacy and civics instruction.In March, Congress approved a continuing resolution that carried over federal funding levels from the 2024 fiscal year. That means states were expecting to…

Senate Republicans hauled President Donald Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill to passage Tuesday on the narrowest of margins, pushing past opposition from Democrats and their own GOP ranks after a turbulent overnight session.The sudden outcome capped an unusually tense weekend of work at the Capitol, the president’s signature legislative priority teetering on the edge of approval or collapse. In the end that tally was 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.Three Republican senators—Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, and Rand Paul of Kentucky—joined all Democrats in voting against it.“The big not…

School district leaders say they are having a hard time keeping up with all the federal policy changes affecting their schools, as President Donald Trump’s administration unilaterally makes some of the most significant changes to federal K-12 policy in years.Two superintendents expressed those views during a panel discussion here on July 2 at the ISTELive 25 + ASCD Annual Conference 25.The school district leaders identified several changes they are struggling to deal with, including President Donald Trump’s freeze of nearly $6.8 billion in federal funds for K-12 education and the reduction of the Department of Education’s staff by 50 percent,…

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday plunged into the national debate over transgender rights in schools, agreeing to hear cases next term involving Idaho and West Virginia laws that prohibit transgender students from participating in girls’ or women’s school sports.Both laws were blocked by separate federal appeals courts, and the states’ requests for review have been sitting at the Supreme Court for almost a year. Both cases raise the question of whether such laws, which 27 states now have on their books, violate the 14th Amendment’s equal-protection guarantee. One of the cases also implicates Title IX, and the court’s eventual…

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled against a transgender female teacher who challenged a Florida law that bars K-12 education employees from using their chosen personal titles or pronouns if they do not correspond to their sex assigned at birth.A 2-1 panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, said the teacher’s First Amendment rights were not violated by the 2023 law because it imposes a restriction on her in-class speech as a government employee, rather than her speech rights as an individual.“When a public school teacher addresses her students within the four walls…

The first major federal program that would direct public funds to private school tuition is one part of the major budget bill that narrowly passed the U.S. Senate this week.But the tax credit-fueled policy looks different than it did in earlier versions of the bill after an administrative hurdle dealt it a temporary setback last week.The fundamental structure of the provision remained the same as the version in the tax cuts and spending bill passed by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives in May: Individual taxpayers will be eligible for tax credits for donations they make to organizations that…

The Trump administration’s abruptly announced decision to withhold $6.8 billion in federal education funds approved four months ago by Congress touched off a frenzy of chaos, confusion, and cost-cutting for schools across the country on Tuesday, with immediate and far-reaching implications for K-12 students, staff, and administrators.Some districts and education service providers are already moving to shut down programs and rejigger budgets. Many more are looking to state leaders to help them make sense of the rapidly evolving situation—even as policymakers and advocates struggle for clarity and contemplate legal action against the federal government. The U.S. Department of Education told…

In the early months of President Donald Trump’s second term, nearly every strike of the president’s executive authority has been met with litigation that has, in some cases, paused his actions nationwide. But on Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the lower courts, restricting federal judges’ ability to issue early, temporary rulings that apply across the country.The decision could change the course of education-related cases that have been trickling through the courts since Trump returned to office in January—and affect how legal challenges are brought against the administration in the years to come. It’s also part of…