Author: BelieveAgain

The recent action by the Trump administration to delay and review the disbursement of billions in federal funding for education is yet another example of political efforts to undermine public education and inflict pain on our most vulnerable students, families, and communities. It’s causing educators and families to scramble at the last minute to create alternative plans to provide critical summertime support, serve multilanguage learners, and train teachers in evidence-based practices.While it’s egregious—especially given the spurious claims from the administration that these funds support “a radical left-wing agenda”—it’s also indicative of a perennial dynamic in public schools. School district funding…

The Trump administration is seeking to prohibit undocumented students from federally funded early childhood and postsecondary career and technical education as part of a multi-agency effort to bar undocumented immigrants from accessing services it says are similar to welfare.The U.S. departments of Education and Health and Human Services were among several federal agencies to submit official notices Thursday arguing that undocumented immigrants were ineligible for a wide range of the programs they oversee.The notices take aim at Head Start, the preschool program for children from families living in poverty, and federally funded, postsecondary CTE programs and adult education. The restrictions…

On June 27, the Supreme Court released its decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor. The decision has not received the attention it merits. A close reading of the conservative majority’s opinion suggests that the high court is moving toward determining that public schooling violates the First Amendment of the Constitution. The decision could mean the end of public education in America.The case concerned the Montgomery County, Md., board of education’s decision to integrate LGBTQ+ inclusive readings into its literacy curriculum to further its goal of representing diversity. At first, the district permitted parents to opt out their children, but when that…

Students could face more difficulty accessing free school meals and school-based health services—and schools and states could have a harder time providing them—under Congress’ sweeping budget bill passed last week, experts say.Congress’ sprawling, megabill that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4 slashes federal Medicaid spending by 15% over the next decade, affecting the fourth-largest federal funding stream for schools. It also shifts a greater share of the cost of providing food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to states.About a third of the budget cuts to Medicaid and SNAP come from imposing work requirements…

There’s a lot of uncertainty about federal education policy today. How does it really work? What’s changed? Well, uber-insider Vic Klatt has just stepped back from a storied career and is perfectly situated to give the inside scoop. He’s worked on federal education policy since 1989, starting out as a senior official for congressional affairs at the Department of Education under President George H. W. Bush, then serving in a senior role on the House education committee, and eventually helping to found the Penn Hill Group. He was named one of Washington’s most influential people by Washingtonian magazine in 2022…

The overwhelming majority of the nation’s 13,000 public school districts are getting less federal money than they expected for the upcoming school year, as the Trump administration withholds billions of dollars Congress approved for education in March.For some districts, the losses will amount to a few thousand dollars; for hundreds of others, their budgets are now short millions of federal dollars from funding streams for migrant education (Title I-C), professional development (Title II-A), English-learner services (Title III-A), academic enrichment (Title IV-A), and before- and after-school programs (Title IV-B). Zahava Stadler and Jordan Abbott, researchers at the left-leaning think tank New…

School districts, state leaders, and education experts continue to sound the alarm that the Trump administration’s hold on $6.8 billion in federal funds Congress already allocated for education will disproportionately harm students from low-income families, students with disabilities, and English learners. The Trump administration notified states last week that seven federal education programs are currently under “ongoing programmatic review” despite a July 1 disbursement date enshrined in federal law. The federal government distributes money for those programs using formulas that prioritize school districts with high concentrations of poverty.So if the administration doesn’t eventually release the $6.8 billion it withheld last…

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…