On April 16, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a civil lawsuit against the Maine Department of Education, seeking to stop a policy allowing transgender students to compete on women and girls’ sports teams. In addition, the USDE is also reviewing the state’s federal funding and may retroactively…
On April 7th, immigration enforcement officers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attempted to enter two Los Angeles Unified School District elementary schools in search of students. After with their district leadership and legal counsel, school administrators turned away the agents. DHS said the officers left “without incident”…
A series of bills in Congress are aimed at closing the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). In the Senate, the Returning Education to Our States Act, outlines where each of the USDE’s responsibilities would be transferred. The bill also proposes to convert federal education funding into block grants, which it…
In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana have died of pertussis, the disease commonly known as whooping cough. In addition, Washington state recently announced its first confirmed death from pertussis in more than a decade, while Idaho and South Dakota each reported a death this year, and Oregon…
Nearly a quarter of a century ago, Congress formed the Office of Educational Technology (OET) within the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). Since then, the use of educational technology in schools has changed dramatically and exponentially. Now, with the demise of the OET, former OET employees fear the office’s progress…
On April 11, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) moved to terminate federal K-12 funding for the Maine Department of Education, following through on its promise to cut off funds to an entire state education system, and ultimately others, if they do not enforce Title IX to keep transgender…
On April 4, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) rescinded the liquidation of hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency pandemic funds that were previously approved for extensions for the spending. The unexpected decision notified state education leaders in a letter that said they are responsible for laying out…
On Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at the ASU+GSV Summit workforce and technology conference, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon defended the Trump administration’s move to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), saying it was necessary to eliminate bureaucracy. According to McMahon, “We just can’t keep going along doing what we’re…
An April 9, 2025 court agreement has given school districts a short reprieve, until at least April 24th, from a Trump administration directive to certify they’re not using diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, or risk losing federal funding. The agreement postpones the original U.S. Department of Education (USDE) 10-day…
For students with disabilities, the opportunity to develop confidence in themselves can help make the college transition less uncertain. This includes supporting their self-advocacy skills, as well as allowing them to explore what a college environment looks like before they start that part of their education. Schools can effectively prepare…
