Policy & Legal: Page 8

  • Columbia University
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    AAUP and AFT sue Trump administration over threats to defund Columbia University

    The unions accused federal officials of trying to “overpower” the Ivy League institution’s autonomy and are asking that a court restore all funding.

    By • March 25, 2025
  • A group of people are standing outside the U.S. Department of Education with signs
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    Kayla Bartkowski via Getty Images
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    AAUP, AFT sue to block Education Department dismantling

    The plaintiffs allege that the executive branch has exceeded its constitutional authority and violated law after the president’s order to wind the agency down.

    By • March 24, 2025
  • An employee leaves the U.S. Department of Education building with their belongings in tow.
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    Win McNamee / Staff via Getty Images
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    ‘Turbulence’ and ‘confusion’: Groups raise alarm over Trump’s push to kill the Education Department

    Opponents of the effort to dismantle the agency worry the executive order will disrupt critical services, such as federal financial aid.

    By • March 21, 2025
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    Michael M. Santiago / Staff via Getty Images
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    Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear vetoes bill to ban DEI at public colleges

    Civil rights groups in the state celebrated the move, but Republicans are expected to override the governor's decision next week.

    By • March 21, 2025
  • A student walks through UCLA.
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    Kevork Djansezian via Getty Images
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    University of California freezes hiring as it braces for funding cuts

    The system cited uncertainty at both the federal and state level, including heavy potential cuts from the National Institutes of Health.

    By • March 20, 2025
  • President Donald Trump stands next to Linda McMahon while holding the executive order in the White House.
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Trump signs order closing Education Department to ‘maximum extent appropriate’

    The directive comes on the heels of U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon's decision to gut half the agency as its "final mission.”

    By Naaz Modan • Updated March 20, 2025
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    Judge blocks cuts to Education Department teacher training grants

    The agency must also reinstate canceled grants to the members of AACTE and two other educator preparation groups that sued.

    By Anna Merod • March 20, 2025
  • An archway on the campus of University of Pennsylvania.
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    aimintang via Getty Images
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    Feds suspend $175M to University of Pennsylvania over trans athletics policy

    The Trump administration shared the news in a social media post, but a Penn spokesperson said the institution hasn’t received “official notification.”

    By • March 19, 2025
  • Columbia University
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    Lya_Cattel via Getty Images
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    Moody’s turns negative on higher ed’s financial outlook amid Trump cuts

    Federal policy changes like layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education and funding reductions create major new risks for the sector, analysts said.

    By • March 19, 2025
  • A close-up of a hand with a pencil filling in test answer sheet bubbles.
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    Deep Dive

    What will NCES layoffs mean for the Nation’s Report Card?

    The U.S. Department of Education claims mandated tests like NAEP won’t be impacted, but laid-off employees beg to differ.

    By Naaz Modan • March 18, 2025
  • The side of a building with white stone and windows is shown. Letters on the building read: U.S. Department of Education
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    Kayla Bartkowski via Getty Images
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    Democrats demand details on Education Department layoffs

    The cuts could hinder the agency’s ability to uphold its duties under key federal laws, according to the letter from three congressional leaders.

    By Roger Riddell • March 18, 2025
  • President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025.
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Trump administration can enforce anti-DEI orders, appeals court rules

    The three-judge panel lifted a lower court’s preliminary injunction that had blocked major portions of two executive orders. 

    By • March 17, 2025
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    pabradyphoto via Getty Images
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    Wyoming’s anti-DEI law is ‘a tool for censorship,’ free speech group says

    PEN America lambasted the Republican-led Legislature for interfering in instruction and taking a "battering ram" to the state’s education system.

    By • March 17, 2025
  • The campus of Yale University.
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    f11photo via Getty Images
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    Education Department launches probes into over 50 colleges after anti-DEI guidance

    The new investigations are part of the agency’s aggressive tactics to carry out President Donald Trump’s higher education policy priorities.

    By • March 14, 2025
  • French doors with missing window panes covered with newspaper are bound with a bike lock that reads, kryptonite, the doors are framed by shattered glass.
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    Columbia University faces ultimatum from Trump administration to keep federal funding

    Federal officials told the Ivy League institution to remake its disciplinary process and suspend or expel some pro-Palestinian protesters by March 20.

    By • March 14, 2025
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    Rob Carr / Staff via Getty Images
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    Johns Hopkins to lay off 2,200 workers as it reels from Trump’s USAID cuts

    The university said previously it faced an $800 million funding shortfall from the hollowed-out aid agency and would have to wind down programs.

    By • March 14, 2025
  • Pro-Israel activists counter demonstrate a Pro-Palestinian rally on October 13, 2023 in New York City.
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    Stephanie Keith via Getty Images
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    Trump administration silent on Muslim students’ civil rights

    While this Education Department has taken strong action on antisemitism, its directives to date have not mentioned Islamophobia.

    By Naaz Modan • Updated March 14, 2025
  • A welcome sign on the University of Maine's campus
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    sshepard via Getty Images
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    USDA restores funding to University of Maine System

    In an about-face, the agency resumed payments after Sen. Susan Collins spoke with Trump administration officials.

    By • March 13, 2025
  • A white man in glasses and a suit sits on a desk while reading through a stack of papers.
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    Retrieved from Kentucky Public Information Office.
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    Kentucky lawmakers vote to ban DEI spending at public colleges

    Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is unlikely to sign the bill, but Republican lawmakers hold a veto-proof supermajority in the Legislature.

    By • March 13, 2025
  • he U.S. flag and Department of Education flags whip in the wind outside the department's headquarters
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    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Half of OCR eliminated after Trump Education Department layoffs

    The shuttering of seven civil rights enforcement offices means thousands of cases impacting colleges in half the nation are up in the air.

    By Naaz Modan • March 13, 2025
  • A close-up short of Linda McMahon in a crowded room.
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    Tierney L. Cross via Getty Images
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    ‘Reckless, foolish and vicious’: Education Department cuts slammed by critics

    Democratic lawmakers and higher ed groups voiced concerns that the firings would leave the agency without enough people to carry out key functions.

    By • March 12, 2025
  • A large brick academic building surrounded by trees with red, orange and yellow leaves.
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    DenisTangneyJr via Getty Images
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    USDA pauses funding to University of Maine System

    The funding freeze follows a spat between President Donald Trump and Gov. Janet Mills over his order restricting transgender students from women’s sports.

    By • March 12, 2025
  • The dome of the U.S. Capitol Building as seen at dawn.
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    How college presidents are quietly resisting federal attacks on higher education

    Many leaders of institutions favor behind-the-scenes resistance over protests and op-eds, the Council of Independent Colleges’ president writes. 

    By Marjorie Hass • March 12, 2025
  • A person is photographed from the front and below. Only the person's head, neck and shoulders can be seen. They are in a room with wood paneling. Others are seated behind the person.
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    Education Department announces massive layoffs, slashing nearly half its workforce

    The agency’s employee count will plummet from 4,133 when President Donald Trump was inaugurated to about 2,183.

    By Naaz Modan • Updated March 11, 2025
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    Harvard among latest universities to freeze hiring amid federal funding uncertainty

    The Ivy League institution’s officials emphasized that the move was temporary and meant to “preserve our financial flexibility.”

    By • March 11, 2025