As we face the heavy weight of the daily news cycle, it can be understandably difficult to prioritize developments in education. Here’s a brief overview of some major developments happening at the federal level:
Threat of eliminating the Department of Education
Consistent with the plan outlined in Project 2025, the Trump administration has called for eliminating the Department of Education. Recent reporting indicates a drafted executive order already exists to dismantle the DOE although Secretary McMahon insists she does not know when such an order would be signed.
Trump and his allies frequently say that they want to return education to the states. But as Zachary Schermele of USA Today explains, “Sending education ‘back to the states’... is a bit like mandating the sun go back to the sky. It’s already there.” States already make curricular and programming decisions as well as staffing decisions. Most states receive approximately 10% of their budget in federal dollars.
Trump cannot unilaterally eliminate DOE as an act of Congress would be needed. But there is quite a bit more damage he can do through executive order.
Here in Wisconsin, our Department of Public Instruction has warned districts to prepare for federal cuts that will impact “essential services.” There is no specific action outlined on funding, but freezes or cuts could easily impact staffing. Cuts to staff at schools would mean larger class sizes and fewer support services, which are necessary for students with documented disabilities who have IEPs in place.
Another point of context at the state level: In the last two years, 271 school districts went to referendum primarily to cover operational costs. That’s roughly two-thirds of all schools districts in Wisconsin. If schools cannot afford the cost of their current operations, then an additional 10% cut in funding does sound “catastrophic” as Governor Evers has said publicly.
End DEI portal
The Department of Education recently released an End DEI portal that allows people to anonymously report DEI in schools. Even though recent DOE guidance acknowledged that they cannot dictate curriculum and cultural observances do not violate the law, the portal lives on.
The founder of Moms for Liberty, active in pursuing book bans, has encouraged members to bring their “receipts of the betrayal that has happened in our public schools.”
Meanwhile, the ACLU and NEA filed a lawsuit last week with regard to DEI in education and the administration’s overreach.
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), once a refuge for those experiencing discrimination, now is focused on Trump’s priorities: anti-DEI measures, antisemitism (especially when viewed as “illegal protests” happening at universities), and transgender issues. OCR has halted thousands of pending cases and current staff members report being pressured to leave their posts.
Today we learned that the most visible Palestinian activist at Columbia University, Mahmoud Khalil, was arrested over the weekend for his history of political activism. According to Khalil’s attorney, ICE officers told him that his student visa was revoked. But Khalil is a permanent legal resident and is not on a visa. The officers then said his permanent residency was revoked and took him into custody. As of this writing, a judge paused deportation efforts and Khalil continues to be detained in Louisiana. Trump celebrated Khalil’s arrest on social media and vowed to “find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country.”
OCR has also announced that 60 universities are being investigated for what McMahon characterized as “the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year.”
ICE in/near schools
The Trump administration changed the DHS policy that prevented immigration arrests from “sensitive” locations such as schools and hospitals. On Friday, a federal judge denied the request of Denver Public Schools to pause the updated immigration policy. The Council of Great City Schools, which submitted a brief in support of the DPS lawsuit, released survey results from 78 member districts that reported increased absenteeism, higher anxiety among students, and less parental involvement since the policy change.
In Milwaukee, we saw the case of Yessenia Ruano, mother of 9 year old twin daughters and a paraprofessional in MPS, who was flagged for deportation. After community protests and media coverage of the story, she was given more time to process her visa application.
Last week, an immigrant father who has lived in the country for 30 years was detained by ICE outside of his son’s middle school in Trenton, Michigan. As of yesterday, Jose Guadalupe Jaimes was reported to be in detention but it was unclear when or if he would appear before a judge.
Removing historical content and flagging words related to equity
Although it’s happening outside of schools in other federal agencies, we’re watching live the erasure of history. Last month, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) banned eleven cultural observances including Black History Month and Holocaust Remembrance Day. Just last week, the Pentagon flagged 26,000 images for removal in hopes of aligning with Trump’s anti-DEI priorities. The move seemed to be motivated by key words as a famous photograph of the Enola Gay, the B-29 aircraft which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, was flagged presumably for including the word “gay.”
The New York Times recently published a list of words that are under attack by the Trump administration in that they are being actively removed from webpages. Some of the terms include: climate crisis, disability, injustice, multicultural, social justice, socioeconomic, and underprivileged.
Organizations and schools are now left to decide whether they should update job descriptions, policies, websites, and social media knowing that the administration is actively searching for specific terms.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program
Trump signed an executive order seeking to limit who can qualify for PSLF. The popular program currently allows government and nonprofit employees to have their student loans forgiven after 10 years of payments. The executive order claims that PSLF has “misdirected tax dollars into activist organizations.”
Consistent with other executive orders, the language is chilling but intentionally vague. There is no indication of what employers may be impacted. Any changes that may take place are expected to be at least one year away. If changes are made in the future, they cannot be made retroactively so all prior payments would still be credited toward the program.
Brief coming soon: Education news happening in Wisconsin (state level)
*Final note: We would love to devote more resources to community education and advocacy efforts. If you’d like to help our cause, reach out to Amanda Seppanen: amanda@sustainableformations.com