On July 7, 2025, six medical groups and a pregnant physician sued Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his principal deputies over changes made to federal COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Filed Monday, the lawsuit argues that Kennedy’s directive, which removed guidelines recommending COVID vaccination for pregnant people…
As a result of $6.2 billion in federal K-12 grant money that the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is withholding from states and school districts, it is likely that they will be forced to cancel after-school programming, services for English learners and professional development. The funding that has already been…
On June 26, 2025 the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) reversed prior guidance that canceled spending extensions for federal K-12 pandemic relief funds. States that were preapproved for the extended spending deadlines can now request reimbursements and liquidate their funds. In a letter to states not suing over the USDE’s…
Efforts by the Trump administration to move responsibility for career and technical education (CTE) from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) are being met with resistance from CTE advocates and Democratic lawmakers who claim that it is “fragmented” and “illegal.” The criticism follows…
A DHS spokesperson recently clarified to K-12 Dive that immigration enforcement activity in schools should be “extremely rare” and would first require “secondary supervisor approval.” The DHS comment was in response to a lawsuit dismissed this month and filed originally in February by Denver Public Schools over DHS’ policy memo…
According to annual accountability ratings released by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) on June 20, 2025, a total of 37 states or territories need assistance for meeting special education targets for students ages 3-21. Only 19 states and the Republic of the Marshall Islands meet requirements, and two educational…
On June 18, 2025, a U.S. District Judge ordered the U.S Department of Education (USDE) to reinstate all laid-off Office for Civil Rights employees for now, saying the layoffs and shuttering of seven regional offices had rendered the remaining staff “incapable of addressing the vast majority of OCR complaints.” The…
Some schools would no longer have to allow students to try out for a noncontact sports team that doesn’t align with their gender if there is no equivalent team for their gender, under a Title IX regulation issued recently by the U.S. Department of Energy — not the U.S. Department…
According to K-12 Dive, on June 6, 2025 the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) for an immediate pause on a court order that the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) reinstate nearly 1,400 employees fired during a mass workforce reduction in March. The DOJ’s appeal…
At a June 5, 2025 congressional hearing it was reported that the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has seen caseloads for those still employed at the agency ballooning from an average of 42 cases per caseworker to 115 per caseworker due to the March 2025 layoffs…
