Federal policy and reform
After clearing the Senate education committee on a party-line vote, Linda McMahon will face a full Senate vote to become President Trump’s education secretary.
Democratic senators wanted details about Trump’s intentions toward K-12 schools. McMahon deflected many questions — including whether schools might risk their federal funding by teaching standalone African American history courses.
One canceled contract tasked researchers with finding ways to help students struggling in math due to pandemic learning disruptions.
The Trump administration said it will enforce Title IX regulations adopted in 2020 in a way that matches an executive order signed by the president Jan. 20.
The federal government is barred from dictating curriculum to schools. But a new Trump executive order concerning how racism and gender identity are talked about in schools sends a signal about how he wants to influence classrooms.
The freeze has sparked widespread confusion about the extent to which various programs will be affected.
“Denver is prepared to take the administration to court and do everything within our legal authority to keep them safe,” a mayoral spokesperson said.
The issue could divide the GOP — and the public — on the scope of enforcement measures.
Building leaders are directed to gather information from agents including asking for a warrant, and then they must call district legal teams.
Trump campaigned on mass deportations and more severe immigration enforcement. Several urban districts have moved to shield their students from such moves.
Many schools used federal COVID aid on longstanding, costly needs like new curriculum materials and buildings, a federal report says.
The president-elect will reportedly rescind a policy that has long limited immigration enforcement at or near schools.
About 6,000 students in Jeffco lost Medicaid, which had automatically qualified them as at-risk students.
McMahon is the co-chair of Trump’s transition team and was reportedly passed over for the job of commerce secretary. She has little experience in education.
Special education teachers keep leaving the profession, even as more students are being diagnosed. Efforts to attract more teachers to the field have had limited success.
Eliminating the U.S. Department of Education might affect funding and civil rights protections for students with disabilities. Or the impact could be relatively minor.
'We know Tennessee. We know our children,' said Gov. Bill Lee
The analysis has national implications for ongoing reforms aimed at making swift and dramatic improvement to persistently low-performing schools.
The cost of providing breakfast and lunch for free to all students may restrict the growth of universal school meals in states.
Schools have until January 2025 to spend the last of their COVID relief dollars, unless they seek an extension. Federal officials have signed off on extensions in 4 states, and more plan to apply.