Headlines

While local and state governments provide the vast majority of funding and governance for TK-12 schools and higher education, the federal government handles key aspects of education including the enforcement of civil rights laws, authorized by Congress, through its Office for Civil Rights in order to protect students from discrimination. California alone has more than 700 pending complaints of civil rights violations.

The states allege the cuts amount to an illegal shutdown of the Education Department’s crucial, congressionally-mandated work, including protecting civil rights.

At least 800 education department research employees and outside partners have lost jobs. The cuts will decimate research and data collection.

Other basic information about schools, along with research about what works to improve them, seems most likely to be degraded or to disappear entirely. Many of those who were laid off worked on projects evaluating math and reading instruction, disability supports and other subjects critical to student learning.

State leaders warned that a dismantled or even weakened Education Department could hurt school budgets and result in inflated class sizes, fewer resources for students in special education programs, and problems recruiting and retaining teachers.

Only five of the agency’s civil rights offices remain nationwide. Those who are still with the department say it will now be “virtually impossible” to resolve discrimination complaints.

The Trump administration’s move to halt funding for these programs comes as school nutrition officials are becoming increasingly anxious about affording healthy food with the current federal reimbursement rate for meals.

A group of labor unions asked a federal court for an emergency order to stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the sensitive Social Security data of millions of Americans.

A federal judge repudiated President Donald Trump’s effort to remove the chair of the National Labor Relations Board, calling it an “illegal act” and “power grab” that misunderstands the limits of his authority.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell’s order reinstates Gwynne Wilcox to the NLRB, which plays a major role in policing labor disputes across the country.