Check back for updates on recent news on this topic.
How the Education Department is using civil rights laws to bring schools to heel
From Oregon and Pacific Broadcasting (OPB)
"The country’s federal civil rights laws, written to protect marginalized groups from discrimination, have become an unlikely tool in the Trump administration’s efforts to end targeted support for students of color and protections for transgender students."
Trump administration restrictions on Palestinian visa applicants means nearly all would be refused
From the Associated Press
"President Donald Trump’s administration is piling new restrictions on Palestinian visa applicants, making it nearly impossible for anyone holding a Palestinian Authority passport from receiving travel documents to visit the U.S. for business, work, pleasure or educational purposes."
Universities targeted by Trump have more than doubled their spending on lobbying in the last year
From CNN
"While the schools targeted with canceled federal funding have responded with varying levels of what some see as capitulation or pushback, they have also adopted a quieter defense strategy — spending millions of dollars to hire Trump-allied lobbyists and lobbying firms in Washington."
Department of Education Finds That Denver Public Schools' Bathroom Policy Violated Title 9
From Townhall.com
"OCR concluded that the District’s policy allowing students to use facilities according to "gender identity" instead of biological sex violate Title IX’s prohibition against sex discrimination. The district had converted sex-separated multi-stall restrooms to 'all-gender' facilities."
Education Dept. warns schools: Eliminate DEI programs or lose funding
From National Public Radio
A U.S. deportation law was to be used 'sparingly.' Trump has other ideas.
From the New York Times
"Trump's crackdown targeting foreign students protesting Israel's treatment of Palestinians conflicts with free-speech protections added in 1990."
From the New York Times
Brown University warns students about travel abroad after affiliated doctor is deported
From National Public Radio
Over 50 universities are under investigation as part of Trump's anti-DEI crackdown
From National Public Radio
In Trump's quest to close the Education Department, Congress and his own agenda may get in the way
From the Associated Press
US colleges and their international students prepare for a 2nd Trump term
From National Public Radio
Some U.S. colleges and universities, worried about potential restrictions under the incoming Trump administration, are advising international students to return to campus before inauguration day.
Schools are bracing for upheaval over fears of mass deportation
From the Associated Press
“If immigration agents were to arrest a parent dropping off children at school, it could set off mass panic, said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles.
“If something happens at one school, it spreads like wildfire and kids stop coming to school,” she said.”
California schools brace for Trump's attacks on immigrants, trans students, and 'woke' curriculum
From CalMatters
Trump's Education Secretary pick is Linda McMahon, former WWE CEO
From Education Week
"While she has executive branch experience, McMahon will be tackling education policy at the highest level after only scattered experience with it in the past. Still, McMahon has proven herself to be an ideological ally to Trump with her long-standing interest in school choice.
The decision drew immediate backlash from the nation’s largest teachers’ union, which called for the Senate to reject her nomination."
Trump admin. pulls $12 million sex education grant from California over transgender policies
From KTLA- Los Angeles
"The Trump administration on Thursday canceled a grant for sexual education to California since the state “refused to remove radical gender ideology from the federally funded education program.” The grant is worth $12 million, according to multiple media reports.
The California Personal Responsibility Education Program serves youths ages 10 to 19, teaching abstinence and contraception to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. The program focuses on vulnerable groups, including children who are homeless, in foster care, or living in areas with high teen birth rates. LGBTQ teens are among the targeted populations."
Trump to sign order to shut down federal Department of Education, White House says
From Reuters
"U.S. President Donald Trump will sign a long-anticipated executive order on Thursday that aims to shut down the Department of Education, acting on a key campaign pledge, according to a White House summary seen by Reuters.
Even before it was signed, the order was being challenged by a group of Democratic state attorneys general, who filed a lawsuit seeking to block Trump from dismantling the department and halt the layoffs of nearly half of its staff announced last week."
'Free speech' warrior Trump announces 'unlawful' assault on college protests
From Salon.com
President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that his administration would cut off federal funding to colleges that "allow illegal protests," in addition to threatening arrest, expulsion and deportation for student participants. While he did not divulge many more specifics in his post, it's clear from past statements that he's referring to pro-Palestine activism that has surged in wake of Israel's destructive invasion of Gaza.
Trump issues orders on K-12 'indoctrination,' school choice, and campus protests
From Politico.com
"The president’s latest orders pile atop an array of commands — many which flesh out a campaign education policy agenda infused with socially conservative politics — from the first days of his administration’s second term in office. The orders offer a clear outline of how Trump will continue to embrace heated cultural debates while pushing for fundamental changes to the U.S. education system, a tactic that won praise from congressional Republicans but swift condemnation by teacher union leaders and campus free speech advocates."
How Trump's second term will affect education: 4 things to know
From Education Week
Some highlights:
Project 2025 and Higher Education
From the National Education Association (NEA)
