Author: BelieveAgain

Oklahoma will withhold federal funds from school districts that don’t certify they aren’t using diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, the state’s superintendent announced Tuesday, in what could be the beginning of efforts nationwide to restrict funding for public schools that disobey President Donald Trump’s orders.Superintendent Ryan Walters said the state’s education department will halt subsidies for any districts that have not yet signed a letter issued by the U.S. Department of Education earlier this month. The withholding would start Friday, April 25, the day after the deadline districts face to sign the federal certification, Walters announced.The Education Department in early…

For the second time this school year, a court has deemed a state’s private school choice program unconstitutional and forced it to halt.The Utah Fits All program, an education savings account offering that 10,000 K-12 students currently use, violates the state constitutional requirement to spend state tax revenue on public education options all students can attend, Judge Laura Scott of the Third District Court of Utah ruled on April 18. The judge’s ruling mirrors last fall’s decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court that the state’s education savings account program violated the state constitution’s prohibition on public funds for private…

The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Tuesday appeared strongly inclined to support the right of religious parents to excuse their children from a Maryland school district’s use of LGBTQ+ storybooks in its elementary schools.“The plaintiffs here are not asking the school to change its curriculum. They’re just saying, ‘look, we want out,’” Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. told the lawyer for the Montgomery County school district during two-and-a-half hours of arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor. “What is the big deal about allowing them to opt out of this?”The district began using the storybooks in its English/language arts curriculum in…

A Miami college student in her 40s shares her experience returning to school and how motherhood has prepared her for this challenge. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: As the end of the school year approaches, it’s easy to ask yourself, where did the year go? Then add in your goals for summer break or graduation plans, and this transition period can feel overwhelming. But one mature Miami Dade College student story, a finalist in last year’s NPR College Podcast Challenge, reminds us you are not alone in this journey, no matter your age. Here’s Iman Maani with the story.IMAN MAANI, BYLINE: Meet…

When the Montgomery County school district in Maryland adopted several LGBTQ+ storybooks for use in its elementary schools, it initially allowed requests from parents to keep their children out of lessons using the books.But by March of the 2022-23 school year, the opt-out policy became “unworkable,” the district says. The number of parents seeking exemptions surged, and administrators believed the requests, besides being difficult to manage in the classroom, were undermining the district’s goals of offering inclusive lessons. So, the district ended the opt-out option.That decision has led to a showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court, which will hear arguments…

The Trump administration is asking Congress to eliminate funding for Head Start, a move that would cut early education for more than half a million of the nation’s neediest children and child care for their families.The proposal is tucked in a 64-page internal draft budget document obtained by The Associated Press that seeks deep cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Head Start. It is still in a highly preliminary phase as the White House prepares to send Congress its budget request for the 2026 fiscal year.It is not clear if the proposed cuts will be…

After nearly 30 years of stalled efforts, Texas is in line to become the largest state with a universal private school choice program. The Republican-controlled state House of Representatives approved a $1 billion measure Thursday—which gets the legislation closer than ever to the governor’s desk.The bill’s passage represents a shift in the state, where rural Republicans have for years trounced private school vouchers over concerns that the program would pull funding from the state’s public schools. But Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s strong push to carry the measure over the finish line—with a campaign that sought to unseat the Republicans who…

Education Secretary Linda McMahon has officially been on the job for a month and a half—and so far, many educators say they’re not impressed with her performance.McMahon, who served in President Donald Trump’s first term as the head of the Small Business Administration and is the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, has little experience in education. She graduated from college with a French degree and a teaching certificate, but never taught. She served a yearlong stint on Connecticut’s state school board more than a decade ago and has been a longtime trustee of Sacred Heart University, a private religious…

Years ago, when Mike Rubin’s school was the subject of a U.S. Department of Education civil rights investigation, he found the investigators’ process to be thorough, consistent, and neutral. In fact, it ended up being helpful: He credits that experience—and the advice and counsel that came out of it—as part of the reason the school has had so few complaints. “They allowed us to really look at our practices and procedures through a neutral lens of the law,” said Rubin, the principal of Uxbridge High School in Massachusetts.That was at the tail end of President Donald Trump’s first administration. But…

In “Straight Talk with Rick and Jal,” Harvard University’s Jal Mehta and I examine the reforms and enthusiasms that permeate education. In a field full of buzzwords, our goal is simple: Tell the truth, in plain English, about what’s being proposed and what it means for students, teachers, and parents. We may be wrong and we will frequently disagree, but we’ll try to be candid and ensure that you don’t need a Ph.D. in eduspeak to understand us. Today’s topic is the state of federal education research.—RickRick: The federal education research operation has been shredded. In February, the Trump administration…