Author: BelieveAgain
A federal court has again told the Trump administration to return laid-off U.S. Department of Education employees to the job—this time specifically to the arm of the federal agency that investigates discrimination complaints in schools.The same Boston-based federal judge who in May told the administration to reinstate nearly 1,400 laid-off Education Department employees issued an order in another case Wednesday telling the Education Department to restore its office for civil rights to how it existed when President Donald Trump took office in January. He also ordered the office to investigate all discrimination complaints it receives. The Trump administration had prioritized…
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Tennessee law banning certain gender-transition treatments for transgender minors, in a decision with potential ripple effects for other state-level restrictions on transgender rights in education, including bans on transgender girls’ participation in school sports.Two justices, in fact, sent a signal that they believe states have wide authority to regulate sports eligibility and access to restrooms for transgender students.The 6-3 decision in United States v. Skrmetti upholds the 2023 Tennessee medical law under the 14th Amendment’s equal-protection clause, which is the same basis upon which several federal courts have blocked laws in Arizona,…
As the U.S. Supreme Court weighs another case at the intersection of religion and public education, state school boards, legislatures, and other education officials are greenlighting a series of measures that would infuse Christianity into public schools in different ways.The measures that would directly bring religion into public school buildings include requirements that the Ten Commandments be posted in classrooms, a policy setting aside time for prayer in school, and an order to incorporate the Bible into instruction.It’s a wave created by advocates who want to see how far they can push the church-state divide with a somewhat pliable U.S.…
Schools nationwide have spent most of 2025 confronting a dizzying slew of disruptions to federal funding—not just canceled grants and terminated contracts, but also slow reimbursements, delayed allocation estimates, unexpected rule changes, and a shortage of clear communications from federal agencies.The mounting layers of confusion and chaos have many district leaders on edge about what may be in store come July 1—the day when states and districts every year begin receiving federal funding in advance of the federal fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.Rural school leaders waited on tenterhooks after a routine federal funding dispatch showed up two months late.…
A group of principals from across the country met with Education Secretary Linda McMahon and federal lawmakers earlier this week to make one specific request—to continue the flow of funds and support that help schools recover from school shootings and other violent incidents, as well as damage from natural disasters.The principals are members of the Principal Recovery Network, a coalition of leaders from schools that have faced school shootings and other violent incidents, which is convened by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Led by Greg Johnson, a high school principal from Ohio, the school leaders asked policymakers to…
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday sided with students with disabilities, overturning a lower-court ruling that had required them to meet a more stringent standard of liability when suing their schools under two key federal disability-discrimination laws.The unanimous decision in A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools makes it easier for students and families to seek monetary damages for alleged discrimination under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.“We hold today that ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims based on educational services should be subject to the same standards that apply in other disability…
The Trump administration’s long-threatened plan to punish Democrat-led states with broad cuts to federal funding could next affect K-12 schools—though the extent and legality of the cuts under consideration remain unclear and in flux.Top federal officials have recently discussed halting “formula funds” that flow from the U.S. Department of Education to California’s schools and education agencies, an unnamed administration official told Politico on June 10. The White House has deputized staffers for the Department of Government Efficiency to coordinate a wide range of grant cuts across agencies, the Washington Post reported on June 7.And Education Secretary Linda McMahon, speaking to…
The U.S. Department of Education was already working behind the scenes to move two key programs to other federal agencies before a court order halted the work, according to a new legal filing.Even though Congress hadn’t approved transferring oversight of student loans and career-technical and adult education grants out of the Education Department—and despite the Trump administration’s assertion that it’s not dismantling the department without Congress’ OK—the filing shows the agency was testing the waters for shifting its portfolio of programs elsewhere in the federal government in the event of its closure.The Education Department had penned agreements with the U.S.…
The U.S. Department of Education has hired a Project 2025 author whose chapter of the conservative policy document proposed dismantling the federal agency, phasing out Title I funding for schools, and scaling back other federal involvement in education.Lindsey Burke will join the Education Department as deputy chief of staff for policy and programs, the department announced late last week. Burke arrives after 17 years at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that published the 900-page Project 2025 policy blueprint that became a major source of debate during the 2024 presidential campaign.As director of the group’s center for education policy,…
Education savings accounts, tax-credit scholarships, vouchers, charter schools, hybrid home-schooling, tutoring, course choice, dual degrees, and microschools are transforming K–12 in profound ways. In “Talking Choice,” Ashley Berner and I seek to help make sense of the shifting landscape. Berner directs Johns Hopkins’ Institute for Education Policy, works on high-quality curriculum and civic preparation, is the author of Educational Pluralism and Democracy, and may be the nation’s leading authority on “educational pluralism.” Whatever you think of educational choice, our aim is to provide a more concrete, constructive discussion of what it means for students, families, and educators.—RickRick: Ashley, I’m delighted…