Author: BelieveAgain

In March, most Congressional Republicans—and one Democrat—voted for a federal spending package that included billions of dollars for education funding. But now, they’re overwhelmingly staying silent on whether the Trump administration broke the law by withholding $6.8 billion of that money, which goes to virtually every public school district.President Donald Trump on March 15 signed into law a continuing resolution that maintained current funding levels for federal education programs in the fiscal year that starts this October. Fifty-four senators and 217 House members voted in favor of the continuing resolution.Most of the money Congress allocated in that spending package for…

A federal appeals court has ruled that Arkansas may enforce its law prohibiting teachers from “indoctrination” of students with critical race theory or other so-called “discriminatory” ideologies.A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, in St. Louis, unanimously vacated a federal district court’s preliminary injunction blocking the 2023 law, which is one of a handful nationwide that echoes anti-CRT rhetoric.Some 17 other states, including Iowa and North Dakota (which like Arkansas are part of the 8th Circuit), have similar laws, executive orders or other measures. President Donald Trump in January issued an executive order aimed…

The Trump administration confirmed Friday it will soon send states their formula funding allocations for before- and after-school programs nationwide—more than two weeks after the administration withheld those funds, and billions more dollars, for education that Congress approved in March.The federal Office of Management and Budget told states on June 30 that $6.8 billion wouldn’t flow as expected the next day due to an “ongoing programmatic review.” That review is now complete, an unnamed senior administration official told Education Week through an OMB spokesperson on Friday afternoon.“Funds will be released to the states,” the statement says. “Guardrails have been put…

The U.S. Department of Education is setting new priorities for roughly $1 billion in school mental health funding after the agency abruptly told former grant recipients their awards would end because they reflected Biden administration policies.The department, which is expected to publish the proposed priorities in the Federal Register on Thursday, will prioritize recruitment and retention incentives to increase the ranks of credentialed school psychologists and the “respecialization” of people who work in related fields so they can more quickly be certified as school psychologists.The Education Department said in the document outlining the proposed priorities that it will also prohibit…

Ten Republican senators on Wednesday joined a growing chorus of Democrats calling for the Trump administration to unfreeze $6.8 billion of money Congress allocated for education in March.Declining to give out money Congress allocated for schools runs counter to the Trump administration’s stated goal of “returning education to the states,” a group of senators led by Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., wrote in a July 16 letter to Russell Vought, director of the federal Office of Management and Budget. The letter is the highest-profile example yet of congressional Republicans challenging the Trump administration’s withholding of the funds that, by law, were…

The Trump administration has injected fresh chaos into school budget planning for the quickly approaching academic year with its abruptly announced and unprecedented nationwide halt on $6.8 billion in education funding Congress allocated in March.In the two weeks since states and schools learned that key funding for English learners, teacher training, and more wouldn’t arrive on time, education agencies and districts nationwide have been grappling with a range of unappealing options for adjusting staffing and programs for the upcoming school year. Layoffs and service suspensions have already begun in some places; advocates are calling for states and other potential funders…

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, over the sharp dissent of three justices, granted a request by the Trump administration to allow the U.S. Department of Education to proceed with layoffs of roughly 1,400 employees.The court’s order in McMahon v. New York is not a final ruling on the merits, but it removes a barrier that had blocked the administration from taking its first steps toward dismantling the U.S. Department of Education.Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a dissent joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, called the action “indefensible” and cast it as allowing President Donald Trump and Secretary…

The U.S. Department of Education is resuming a partnership that will move some of its functions to another federal agency after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a lower court’s order that temporarily halted mass firings and other changes to downsize the department.The department will partner with the U.S. Department of Labor, with Labor taking “a greater role in administering” programs that support career and technical education funded by the $1.4 billion Perkins program, and adult education and family literacy programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the Education Department announced Tuesday. The programs will be managed “alongside ED…

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 how values shape educational research.—RickJal: With the Trump administration clapping back against anything that could be considered “leftist” research,…

The Supreme Court’s Monday order allowing the Trump administration to proceed with layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education wasn’t surprising, but was still an emotional blow to employees who lost their jobs and would have been reinstated, as well as some of their former colleagues, they said in interviews.“This is a hurdle that greatly impacts myself, and those 1,400 people, and the people that we served,” said Rachel Gittleman, who helped respond to loan borrower complaints in the department’s federal student aid office. “But this is not a loss. The fight continues.”Meanwhile, the 1,400 staff members who received layoff…