Weekly Newsletter - 4/6/25

This is a reformatted version of the weekly newsletter for the blog. To see the original email, click here.

Welcome to your weekly Department of Education Tracker newsletter!

It has, as usual, been an eventful week - ending optimistically with yesterday’s enormous “Hands Off” demonstrations throughout the country (and worldwide). I wasn’t able to attend (childcare duties and chronic illness woes) but someone I know did, and happened to see one of our favorite “punk singers” (iykyk) protesting alongside everyone. I was very envious! I am especially enjoying the signs and looking forward to the turnout for the next one.

Thank you for subscribing! If you have any comments, suggestions or questions please contact me here or send me a message on Bluesky. I am always open to tips especially if it’s a topic I’ve missed!

What Happened Last Week?

March 31 - April 6, 2025

The Story Everyone’s Talking About:

The administration’s actions to threaten/withhold federal education funds based on their interpretations of Title IX, Title VI and the “Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism”:

• The Trump administration created a joint "Title IX Special Investigations Team" to allow DOJ to take over OCR investigations and enforcement of anti-trans orders

• ED has given state education agencies 10 days to prove that they are in compliance with the administration's "no DEI" rule or lose federal funds

• The Trump Administration specified that Harvard must completely eliminate all "DEI" programming and ban masks at protests to avoid losing federal funding

• The Trump Administration suspended $210 million dollars in research grants to Princeton University as part of ED's investigation into campus anti-semitism

• The Trump administration is undertaking a federal grant review of about $9 billion in grants and contracts at Harvard as part of the "Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism"

• ED OCR issues a final warning to Maine for non-compliance with Title IX by sending an "Impasse Letter" giving MDOE 10 days to come into compliance

The News You May Have Missed:

Friday, April 4

• Federal judge denied temporary restraining order blocking transfer of Columbia University student records to House Education and Workforce Committee

• States are appealing the last-minute cancellation of COVID relief funds

• US Supreme Court allows Trump Administration to undo temporary restraining order and cancel over 100 federal teaching training grants

Thursday, April 3

• Mississippi state legislature approved a DEI ban for all public schools

• ED cancels FY 2025 grant application for National Technical Assistance Center on Transition for Students and Youth with Disabilities (NTACT)

• Two tribal colleges have been allowed to hire back employees fired because of administration funding cuts

Wednesday, April 2:

• Senate Democrats sent a letter to ED secretary McMahon asking her to provide information on how the department will ensure students with disabilities continue to recieve FAPE according to IDEA

• Senate Democrats investigating whether DOGE is planning to replace ED call center workers with AI

• Mahmoud Khalil's case will remain in New Jersey

Tuesday, April 1:

• California lawmakers rejected two Republican proposals to ban transgender athletes from playing on teams according to their gender identity

Monday, March 31:

• ED Secretary McMahon sent an email notifying districts that ED would no longer reimburse for pandemic recovery spending projects, despite an earlier agreed-to deadline extension.

• University of Minnesota student was not arrested by ICE for involvement in activism; his visa was revoked because of a DUI in 2023

• DHS funded school shooting database removed by Trump Administration

What to Look For This Week

April 7 - 13, 2025

Monday, April 7

• Tennessee HB 793/SB 836 will be heard by the House Government Operations Committee. This bill allows public schools to require students show proof of legal immigration status or citizenship and to charge undocumented students tuition to attend.

Friday, April 11

• This is the deadline set by ED OCR for Maine to comply with their interpretation of Title IX and bar transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ sports. Maine previously did not comply with HHS, citing state law, and is unlikely to sign the Resolution Agreement with ED either.

• Senate Democrats requested Education Secretary McMahon respond to their letter by this date. They are requesting specific information on how the department will maintain free appropriate public education for disabled students and the transfer of special education to HHS.

Sunday, April 13

• This is the deadline set by the Department of Education for states to sign and return a certification that they are in compliance with the administration’s interpretation of Title VI, which views all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs as a violation of federal law.

Possible this Week:

• SCOTUS decision on E-rate funding, which provides discounts for internet access for schools and libraries. The court is expected to uphold E-rate.
  

Action Items

• Continue following the cases of university students targeted by ICE. Here are the names I could find:

  • Rumeysa Ozturk - Tufts

  • Mahmoud Khalil - Columbia

  • Doğukan Günaydın - University of Minnesota

  • Yunseo Chung - Columbia

  • Alireza Doroudi - University of Alabama

  • Badar Khan Suri - Georgetown

  • Kseniia Petrova - Harvard

• Watch the progress of state bills in Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, New Jersey and Indiana affecting public education for undocumented students (many violating the Plyler v Doe 1982 Supreme Court ruling). If you are in any of these states, contact your local representatives and ask them to oppose these bills.

• Call your representatives to ask them to protect the Department of Education and oppose both the EO and any bills introduced to dismantle the agency (right now that’s HR 899 but Senator Mike Rounds says he will re-introduce this one soon)

Late Additions

• 3/20/25 - OCR launches Title IX investigations into Illinois DOE, CPS District 299 and Deerfield District 109 because of a complaint originating with a right-wing organization about transgender students being allowed to use the locker room of their gender identity

Things I’ve Enjoyed

• Ambition Monster from The Dream podcast - a fantastic interview with Jennifer Romolini on work culture, overwork, gender, class (and more)

• AI Ambivalence from Nolan Lawson’s “Read the Tea Leaves” blog - an essay on AI from a software developer’s POV