Author: Sequoia Carrillo

The Trump administration will resume garnishing wages from student loan borrowers in default in early 2026, the U.S. Education Department confirmed to NPR. The move comes after a years-long pause in wage garnishment due to the pandemic. “We expect the first notices to be sent to approximately 1,000 defaulted borrowers the week of January 7,” a department spokesperson told NPR. The spokesperson said wage garnishment notices are expected to increase on a monthly basis throughout the year. A borrower is in default when they have not made loan payments in more than 270 days. Once that happens, the federal government…

With student test scores in a decade long decline, many researchers are pointing to cell phones and social media as the catalyst. Can cell phone bans turn student learning around? AYESHA RASCOE, HOST: For over a decade, student test scores in the U.S. have been on the decline, and education researchers are in a desperate scramble to figure out why. One possible answer – the rise of smartphones and the amount of time kids spend staring at them. NPR’s Sequoia Carrillo has more.SEQUOIA CARRILLO, BYLINE: Martin West is a professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, and he looks at…

“Your honors, may I start?” Magda Khedr clears her throat and addresses the court. After a quick nod from one of the three justices, the prosecutor begins her opening argument. “We contend that the search of Carmen Bundy’s phone,” Khedr says, “was a clear violation of her Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.” And so begins a day-long trial in New York City. Though in this case, the prosecutor is a high school senior from Staten Island. It’s all part of an annual moot-court competition, and students from more than 30 city high schools have…

Students walk up the steps of the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library on the campus of Harvard University. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption toggle caption Elissa Nadworny/NPR A federal judge in Boston handed Harvard University a legal victory on Wednesday. It’s the latest in a high-profile legal fight over whether the Trump administration acted illegally when it froze more than $2.2 billion in Harvard research funding in response to allegations of campus antisemitism. In her ruling, Judge Allison D. Burroughs said the administration’s funding freeze was issued without considering any of the steps Harvard had already taken to address the issue.…

As students across the country head back to class, one thing won’t be coming with many of them: their cell phones. This year more states than ever are banning students’ devices during school hours. In Texas, every public and charter school student will be without their phones during the school day this fall. Brigette Whaley, an associate professor of education at West Texas A&M University, expects to see “a more equitable environment” in classrooms with higher student engagement. Last year, she tracked the success of a cell phone ban in one west Texas high school by surveying teachers throughout the…

The largest pot of grant money frozen by the Trump administration consisted of roughly $2.2 billion for professional development for educators. LA Johnson/NPR hide caption toggle caption LA Johnson/NPR The largest pot of grant money frozen by the Trump administration consisted of roughly $2.2 billion for professional development for educators. LA Johnson/NPR The U.S. Education Department is releasing more than $5 billion in education grant funding to states. In late June, the Trump administration told states it was withholding these previously approved federal grants for further review. That announcement came a day before the July 1 deadline when those funds…

A billboard showcasing some of this year’s nominees for the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, better known as the Jimmy Awards. José A. Alvarado Jr. for NPR hide caption toggle caption José A. Alvarado Jr. for NPR For more than 100 high school theater stars, tonight is shaping up to be the biggest night of their young lives. The performers are in New York City for the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, better known as the Jimmy Awards. Each year, the event brings the nominees to Broadway to put on a show – in just 10 days. “It’s…

One way to get teens to read more might be to add a little romance. Members of a high school romance book club in Portland, Ore., explain why they love love stories. AILSA CHANG, HOST: Fewer teens are reading for fun these days than they were about a decade ago. That’s according to a federal survey of 13-year-olds. It also found that when they do read for pleasure, they’re doing so less frequently. But that is not the case for one group of high schoolers in Portland, Oregon, who are passionate about reading romance novels. Here’s NPR’s Sequoia Carrillo.SEQUOIA CARRILLO,…