SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
u.s. department of education
Sanders Leads Call for Trump Admin to Ensure Access to Safety Net Programs—Without Red Tape
"Your surprise actions will put millions of American lives in jeopardy by adding new barriers for individuals and families to access critical programs."
Aug 04, 2025
Weeks after the Trump administration reversed a federal policy going back nearly three decades that has allowed immigrants to benefit from public health, education, and labor programs, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders led a dozen of his Democratic colleagues in demanding that President Donald Trump's Cabinet members undo the "cruel and targeted" action that will "confuse and undermine" families as well as service providers.
Sanders (I-Vt.) spearheaded a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Attorney General Pam Bondi about the administration's reinterpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), which the Trump officials determined had long "improperly extended certain federal public benefits to illegal aliens."
The lawmakers pointed out that the interpretation of PRWORA that was adopted in 1998 already excluded immigrants who were not listed as "qualified" for federal public benefits, but in July 10, the Health and Human Services Department issued a notice to exclude "education, public health, and safety-net programs such as Head Start, community health centers, and the Community Services Block Grants," while the departments of Labor and Education announced similar restrictions.
The senators—including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)—said that rescinding the 1998 interpretation of the law will:
- Add unnecessary tape to Head Start programs by requiring families to prove their immigration status;
- Force mental health care providers to waste time screening for citizenship status instead of providing treatment;
- Jeopardize everyone—U.S. citizens and immigrants—who receives assistance for housing, nutrition, utilities, transit, and job training through Community Services Block Grant funding and thus trap more people in poverty;
- Deny career services to immigrants who form parts of their local economies and who would otherwise have been eligible for workforce training programs; and
- Prevent some community members from developing job skills that could serve the U.S. economy.
"Your surprise actions will put millions of American lives in jeopardy by adding new barriers for individuals and families to access critical programs. They will shift costs and add administrative burdens to already strained state and local governments. Furthermore, your actions will have a chilling effect on otherwise eligible families, such as those with U.S. citizen children, lawful permanent residents, and even eligible U.S. citizens, who may lack the requisite paperwork or be deterred from seeking services available to them," the senators wrote. "Not only will the requirements make the delivery of services less efficient for all Americans, they could also lead to racial profiling or other discriminatory practices—beyond the discrimination inherent in the restrictions themselves."
"Your actions will have a chilling effect on otherwise eligible families, such as those with U.S. citizen children, lawful permanent residents, and even eligible U.S. citizens, who may lack the requisite paperwork or be deterred from seeking services available to them."
The lawmakers called on the administration to reverse the policies to "immediately to prevent further harm not only to immigrant communities but to the nation as a whole."
The policy was announced last month amid Trump's ramp-up of his anti-immigration agenda, including through mass deportations, an expansion of immigrant detention capacity, and an attack on birthright citizenship.
"Your collective actions put lives at risk," wrote the senators, "turn back decades of precedent in our country, and undermine what should be shared goals: supporting the health, education, well-being, and economic self-sufficiency of everyone who lives in this country."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'You Don't Thank a Burglar for Returning Your Cash': Trump Admin Finally Releases Education Funds
"This administration deserves no credit for just barely averting a crisis they themselves set in motion," said one Democratic senator.
Jul 25, 2025
While welcoming reporting that the Trump administration will release more than $5 billion in federal funding for schools that it has been withholding for nearly a month, U.S. educators and others said Friday that the funds should never have been held up in the first place and warned that the attempt to do so was just one part of an ongoing campaign to undermine public education.
The Trump administration placed nearly $7 billion in federal education funding for K-12 public schools under review last month, then released $1.3 billion of it last week amid legal action and widespread backlash. An administration official speaking on condition of anonymity told The Washington Post that all reviews of remaining funding are now over.
"There is no good reason for the chaos and stress this president has inflicted on students, teachers, and parents across America for the last month, and it shouldn't take widespread blowback for this administration to do its job and simply get the funding out the door that Congress has delivered to help students," U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Friday.
"This administration deserves no credit for just barely averting a crisis they themselves set in motion," Murray added. "You don't thank a burglar for returning your cash after you've spent a month figuring out if you'd have to sell your house to make up the difference."
🚨After unlawfully withholding billions in education funding for schools, the Trump Admin. has reversed course.This is a massive victory for students, educators, & families who depend on these essential resources.And it's a testament to public pressure & relentless organizing.
[image or embed]
— Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@pressley.house.gov) July 25, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward—which represents plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's funding freeze—said Friday that "if these reports are true, this is a major victory for public education and the communities it serves."
"This news following our legal challenge is a direct result of collective action by educators, families, and advocates across the country," Perryman asserted. "These funds are critical to keeping teachers in classrooms, supporting students in vulnerable conditions, and ensuring schools can offer the programs and services that every child deserves."
"While this development shows that legal and public pressure can make a difference, school districts, parents, and educators should not have to take the administration to court to secure funds for their students," she added. "Our promise to the people remains: We will go to court to protect the rights and well-being of all people living in America."
Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes—a plaintiff in a separate lawsuit challenging the withholding—attributed the administration's backpedaling to litigatory pressure, arguing that the funding "should never have been withheld in the first place."
They released the 7 B IN SCHOOL FUNDS!! This is a huge win. It means fighting back matters. Fighting for what kids & communities need is always the right thing to do! www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
[image or embed]
— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten.bsky.social) July 25, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association—the largest U.S. labor union—said in a statement: "Playing games with students' futures has real-world consequences. School districts in every state have been scrambling to figure out how they will continue to meet student needs without this vital federal funding, and many students in parts of the country have already headed back to school. These reckless funding delays have undermined planning, staffing, and support services at a time when schools should be focused on preparing students for success."
"Sadly, this is part of a broader pattern by this administration of undermining public education—starving it of resources, sowing distrust, and pushing privatization at the expense of the nation's most vulnerable students," Pringle added. "And they are doing this at the same time Congress has passed a budget bill that will devastate our students, schools, and communities by slashing funds meant for public education, healthcare, and keeping students from their school meals—all to finance massive tax breaks for billionaires."
While expanding support for private education, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month weakens public school programs including before- and after-school initiatives and services for English language learners.
"Sadly, this is part of a broader pattern by this administration of undermining public education."
Trump also signed an executive order in March directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of shutting down the Department of Education—a longtime goal of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-led roadmap for a far-right takeover and gutting of the federal government closely linked to Trump, despite his unconvincing efforts to distance himself from the highly controversial and unpopular plan.
Earlier this week, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office determined that the U.S. Health and Human Services Department illegally impounded crucial funds from the Head Start program, which provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and other services to low-income families.
"Instead of spending the last many weeks figuring out how to improve after-school options and get our kids' reading and math scores up, because of President Trump, communities across the country have been forced to spend their time cutting back on tutoring options and sorting out how many teachers they will have to lay off," Murray noted.
"It's time for President Trump, Secretary McMahon, and [Office of Management and Budget Director] Russ Vought to stop playing games with students' futures and families' livelihoods—and end their illegal assault on our students and their schools," the senator added.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Amid Trump Attacks on Education, Sanders to Hold Town Hall on Teacher Pay Crisis
"It is simply unacceptable that, in the richest country in the history of the world, 40% of teachers have to work extra jobs just to make ends meet," said the senator.
Jul 22, 2025
With the Trump administration continuing to withhold billions of dollars from the nation's public schools—threatening teacher training programs and other crucial funding for school districts—U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday announced an upcoming town hall where he will hear directly from educators about how low wages as well as "disinvestment" in schools are creating a crisis in education.
"It is simply unacceptable that, in the richest country in the history of the world, 40% of teachers have to work extra jobs just to make ends meet," said Sanders (I-Vt.) as he announced a town hall that will be hosted Thursday by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, where he serves as the ranking member.
Sanders has long been an advocate for public school teachers, and counted them among his top supporters during his 2020 presidential campaign.
More than 100 educators are expected to be in attendance at the town hall, along with American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten and National Education Association vice president Princess Moss. Sanders plans to speak directly with many of them about how teachers are experiencing high levels of burnout.
"The situation has become so absurd that four hedge fund managers on Wall Street make more money in a single year than every kindergarten teacher in America combined—nearly 120,000 teachers."
Nearly 1 in 8 teaching jobs is currently vacant or held by a teacher who is not fully certified, while about one-third of public school educators make less than $60,000 per year. That's about $20,000 less than the annual salary a single adult needs to live in the country's most affordable state—West Virginia—according to a recent analysis by SmartAsset, and far less than what one would need to live in many other states.
Sanders noted Tuesday that in 36 states, teachers' wages are so low that an educator with a family of four qualifies for public housing, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and other public assistance.
"The situation has become so absurd that four hedge fund managers on Wall Street make more money in a single year than every kindergarten teacher in America combined—nearly 120,000 teachers," said Sanders.
The senator is holding the town hall, which will be livestreamed on Sanders' social media accounts, days after President Donald Trump's administration announced it would release part of the $6.8 billion in education funding it has withheld from states, after being sued by several states over the funds, which had already been appropriated by Congress.
While the withheld funds don't directly impact teacher salaries, advocates have warned that Trump's attacks on public education will put a strain on schools and already-strained educators.
"If we are going to have the best public school system in the world," said Sanders, "we have got to radically change our attitude toward education and make sure that every teacher in America receives the compensation that they deserve for the enormously important and difficult work that they do."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Trump Admin Will Garnish Struggling Borrowers' Wages as Student Loan Payments Resume
"This is just cruel and doesn't have to happen," said the Debt Collective.
Apr 21, 2025
The Trump administration on Monday announced that it will resume involuntary collection measures against defaulted federal student loan recipients, including garnishing wages, tax refunds, and Social Security benefits and "other actions to help borrowers get back into repayment," as the U.S. Department of Education euphemistically said.
"Resuming collections protects taxpayers from shouldering the cost of federal student loans that borrowers willingly undertook to finance their postsecondary education," DOE said in a statement notifying the public that collections will resume May 5. "This initiative will be paired with a comprehensive communications and outreach campaign to ensure borrowers understand how to return to repayment or get out of default."
The DOE said the U.S. Treasury Offset Program will administer borrower garnishments, which are expected to resume this summer.
DOE continued:
While Congress mandated that student and parent borrowers begin to repay their student loans in October 2023, the Biden-Harris administration refused to lift the collections pause and kept borrowers in a confusing limbo. The previous administration failed to process applications for borrowers who applied for income-driven repayment and continued to push misguided "on-ramps" and illegal loan forgiveness schemes to win points with borrowers and mask rising delinquency and default rates.
"American taxpayers will no longer be forced to serve as collateral for irresponsible student loan policies," billionaire U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on Monday.
The repayment resumption is part of the Trump administration's three-pronged, $1.6 trillion overhaul of the federal student loan system. In addition to moving to collect on defaulted loans, the administration is looking to end former President Joe Biden's Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, an income-driven repayment program currently blocked by a federal appellate court. President Donald Trump also signed an executive order narrowing eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
Last month, the American Federation of Teachers led a lawsuit against the Trump administration after the DOE cut off access to income-driven repayment plan applications and secretly ordered student loan services to stop accepting and processing such applications.
The government has not collected on defaulted student loans since March 2020, when the first Trump administration paused repayments due to the burgeoning Covid-19 pandemic. The reprieve, which was subsequently extended several times, was set to end in September 2023. Efforts by the Biden administration to forgive some or all loan debt for more than 45 million student borrowers were thwarted by the right-wing U.S. Supreme Court in 2023.
"The Biden administration misled borrowers: The executive branch does not have the constitutional authority to wipe debt away, nor do the loan balances simply disappear," said McMahon. "Hundreds of billions have already been transferred to taxpayers."
"Going forward, the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Treasury, will shepherd the student loan program responsibly and according to the law, which means helping borrowers return to repayment—both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation's economic outlook," she added.
As McMahon and the Trump administration work toward ending the DOE—a key goal of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-led plan to eviscerate the federal government—Trump has ordered the administration of federal student loans to be transferred to the Small Business Administration (SBA), which was headed by McMahon during Trump's first term.
Approximately 5.6 million student borrowers were in default at the end of 2024. The DOE warns that "there could be almost 10 million borrowers in default in a few months" after repayments resume. That's roughly 25% of the current student loan portfolio. Failure to make timely student loan repayments results in lower credit scores for borrowers, who in turn generate less economic activity—a domino effect with implications for the entire slowing U.S. economy.
"They bailed out banks, corporations, and airlines. But when it comes to student debt? Suddenly it's 'too expensive.'"
"Many of the households required to resume paying on their student loans are also struggling with credit card debt at near-record interest rates and high-rate mortgages they thought they would be able to refinance into a lower rate, but haven't," explained Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi in a Monday interview with The New York Times.
Some critics slammed the Trump administration for resuming student loan repayments amid an affordability and housing crisis during which a record number of people are unhoused.
"Parents delaying retirement. Grads postponing families. This isn't 45 million separate problems, it's one national crisis," the Student Debt Crisis Center (SDCC) said on social media. "They bailed out banks, corporations, and airlines. But when it comes to student debt? Suddenly it's 'too expensive.'"
SDCC executive director Mike Pierce said that "federal law gives borrowers a way out of default and the right to make loan payments they can afford. Since February, Donald Trump and Linda McMahon have blocked these borrowers' path out of default and are now feeding them into the maw of the government debt collection machine."
"This is cruel, unnecessary, and will further fan the flames of economic chaos for working families across this country," Pierce added.
Tuition-free college would help make America great. Those who need loans to attend college come from working class families, the elites don’t need loans. 40% of student debt holders don’t hold a degree. This will hurt the working class.
[image or embed]
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Others offered solutions enjoyed by people in other countries, including simply not collecting the debt and making colleges and universities tuition-free—even if their chances of implementation under what many leftists call U.S. "late-stage capitalism" are next to nil.
"If the Trump/Musk administration really wanted 'government efficiency,' then they wouldn't be collecting on debts people cannot and will not pay,"
said the Debt Collective, a debtors' union, referring to Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency. "They would just cancel it and boost the economy."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Governor Vows to 'Vigorously Defend' Maine From Trump Attack on Trans Women
"This is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a president can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation," said Janet Mills.
Apr 16, 2025
Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills responded Wednesday to a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against the state for defying President Donald Trump's efforts to ban transgender women and girls from female sports by vowing to defend the rule of law against what she called the White House's illegal attacks.
"Today is the latest, expected salvo in an unprecedented campaign to pressure the state of Maine to ignore the Constitution and abandon the rule of law," Mills said in response to the lawsuit, which accuses state officials of "openly and defiantly flouting federal anti-discrimination law by enforcing policies that require girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions designated exclusively for girls."
The suit comes days after the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced it would begin cutting off federal K-12 education funding following an agency investigation and after the state rejected a list of the Trump administration's demands regarding transgender student-athletes.
"This matter has never been about school sports or the protection of women and girls."
Mlils argued Wednesday that "this matter has never been about school sports or the protection of women and girls, as has been claimed, it is about states rights and defending the rule of law against a federal government bent on imposing its will, instead of upholding the law."
The Trump administration's sweeping war on transgender rights includes redefining Title IX anti-discrimination law to cancel protection for trans and nonbinary people, trying to reinstate his first-term ban on openly transgender people from military service, ending "X" gender markers on passports, banning federal support for gender-affirming healthcare, pressuring schools to censor lessons and materials about trans and nonbinary people, erasing transgender people and stories from government-run institutions and websites, and much more. Hundreds of anti-trans bills have also been passed or proposed in nearly every state.
Announcing the lawsuit at a DOJ press briefing, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi—who warned that other noncompliant states including California and Minnesota might also be sued—said that i"this has been a huge issue" for Trump.
"We have exhausted every other remedy," Bondi added. "We tried to get Maine to comply. We don't like standing up here and filing lawsuits, we want to get states to comply with us."
However, Mills said that U.S. District Judge John Woodcock's April 11 order for the Trump administration to unfreeze funding for a children's nutrition program that was suspended over the transgender athlete issue "reinforces our position that the federal government has been acting unlawfully."
Mills stoked Trump's ire for resisting his threats to cut off federal funding if she did not move to ban transgender women and girls from female teams—an action that would violate state law explicitly prohibiting gender identity-based discrimination. During a February White House meeting with governors, Trump called out Mills for her defiance and again threatened to cut off funding.
"We're going to follow the law, sir," Mills replied. "We'll see you in court."
This further incensed Trump, whose demand for Mills to apologize was widely mocked. The Trump administration then temporarily forced new Maine parents to register their newborns for a Social Security number at a government office rather than at hospitals, a policy quickly rescinded amid public uproar.
Earlier this month, Maine sued the Trump administration in a bid to stop it from implementing any funding freeze.
"For nearly two months, Maine has endured recriminations from the federal government that have targeted hungry school kids, hardworking fishermen, senior citizens, new parents, and countless Maine people," Mills said Wednesday. "We have been subject to politically motivated investigations that opened and closed without discussion, leaving little doubt that their outcomes were predetermined."
"Let today serve as warning to all states: Maine might be among the first to draw the ire of the federal government in this way, but we will not be the last," Mills said.e "My administration and Maine's attorney general will vigorously defend our state against the action announced today from the Department of Justice."
"This is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a president can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation," she added. "I believe he cannot."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Groups Sue Trump for Dismantling Education Department 'By Executive Fiat'
"Education is power," said one advocate. "The forceful elimination of thousands of essential workers will harm the most vulnerable in our communities."
Mar 24, 2025
The nation's largest labor union, representing more than 3 million educators, is among several groups that filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday to demand a federal court "immediately halt the government's attempt to dismantle" the U.S. Department of Education—warning that the move by President Donald Trump is clearly illegal and "puts at risk the millions of vulnerable students."
The National Education Association (NEA) said it is joining the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), AFSCME Maryland Council 3, and several public school parents in suing the administration days after Trump signed an executive order calling on Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take "all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education."
That directive followed the slashing of roughly half of the workforce at the Department of Education and the termination of $1.5 billion in contracts and grants for educational programs that had already been approved by Congress, and came a day before the president announced that $1.8 trillion in student loan debt would be overseen by the Small Business Administration instead of the DOE, while the Health and Human Services Department will direct programs for students with disabilities.
The administration has insisted the DOE is rife with "bureaucratic bloat" and waste—the same accusations Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, have lobbed at programs like Social Security, Medicaid, and other services for low-income and working Americans as they've sought to secure $4.5 trillion in permanent tax cuts for the richest Americans.
The steps the administration has taken against the DOE "constitute a de facto dismantling of the department by executive fiat," reads the complaint filed Monday, noting that "the Constitution gives power over 'the establishment of offices [and] the determination of their functions and jurisdiction' to Congress—not to the president or any officer working under him."
"America's educators and parents won't be silent as Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Linda McMahon try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities to pay for tax cuts for billionaires."
The attempted closure of the DOE is the latest of several actions taken by the Trump administration that violate the Constitution, said the NEA, because the department is a "congressionally created federal agency" and its dismantling "requires congressional approval."
Federal courts have blocked Trump's attempt to freeze federal grants and loans, noting that the president cannot halt funding that has been appropriated by Congress, and his deportation of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act after opponents argued in court that Trump was "trying to write Congress' limits out of the act."
Aaron Ament, president of the Student Defense and Education Law Center, which is representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed Monday, noted that McMahon "has acknowledged they can't legally shut down the Department of Education without Congress."
"Yet that is, for all intents and purposes, exactly what they are doing," said Ament, "a brazen violation of the law that will upend the lives of countless students and families."
Advocates have warned that while state and local governments oversee the vast majority of the U.S. public education system, shutting down the DOE jeopardizes funding an support for students who have disabilities, live in rural areas, and face discrimination.
It would also make it "impossible for the department to ensure that federal education funding actually is spent as Congress intended" and could "reduce access to Pell Grants, upend repayments for student loan borrowers, and invite fraudulent and predatory behavior from unscrupulous institutions of higher education," said the NEA.
The union's president, Becky Pringle, said Monday that "gutting the Department of Education will hurt all students by sending class sizes soaring, cutting job training programs, making higher education more out of reach, taking away special education services for students with disabilities, and gutting student civil rights protections."
"America's educators and parents won't be silent as Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Linda McMahon try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities to pay for tax cuts for billionaires," said Pringle. "Parents, educators, and community leaders know this will widen the gaps in education, which is why we will do everything in our power to protect our students and their futures."
Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said Trump's overarching goal in dismantling the DOE is "deliberately destroying the pathway many Americans have to a better life."
"Education is power," said Johnson. "The forceful elimination of thousands of essential workers will harm the most vulnerable in our communities. The NAACP and our partners are equipped with the necessary legal measures to prevent this unlawful attack on our children's future."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'They Will Have to Come Through Us': Sunrise Protests Trump Attacks With Education Department Study-In
"Trump and Musk want to defund public schools so they can give their fellow billionaires a bigger tax break," warned one organizer. "We won't let them rob us of a good education."
Mar 21, 2025
Students and allies rallied outside the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the U.S. Department of Education on Friday for a "study-in" protest against President Donald Trump's plan to shut down the federal agency—a longtime policy goal of right-wing groups including the organization behind the infamous Project 2025—and other administration attacks on their future.
Protesters set up school desks with signs reading "Trump, Stop Stealing From Kids" and "Kids Deserve Good Schools" on a sidewalk outside the agency's main office. Sunrise Movement, the youth-led climate campaign that led the demonstration, vowed to "defend our schools, our futures, and our democracy" from attacks by Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
"If Trump and Musk want to destroy the futures of millions of students across the country, they will have to come through us," Sunrise Movement said on Instagram ahead of the protest.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order directing billionaire businesswoman-turned-Education Secretary Linda McMahon to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the states." Trump's order followed the Department of Education's announcement earlier this month that it would fire half of its workforce.
The executive order delighted conservatives, who have long targeted the agency tasked with protecting civil rights and equal access in schools, administering federal student aid programs, funding billions of dollars in scholastic loans and grants, and more. The Heritage Foundation, which led Project 2025—often described as a blueprint for a far-right takeover of the federal government—applauded the directive.
However, according to Sunrise Movement:
Abolishing the Department of Education would have severe impacts on students, teachers, and parents. Schools will face larger class sizes, fewer teachers, and severe underfunding, making it even harder for students to get the education they deserve. Pell Grants would be eliminated, putting higher education out of reach for millions. Programs that support students with disabilities, English learners, and low-income families—as well as funding for school safety, mental health services, and building repairs—will be slashed.
"Trump and Musk want to defund public schools so they can give their fellow billionaires a bigger tax break," 19-year-old Sunrise Movement schools organizing manager Adah Crandall of Washington, D.C. said Friday.
"We won't let them rob us of a good education," Crandall vowed, adding that she won't let "Musk and his goons" destroy her generation's future.
Wanya Allen, a student at Seminole State College of Florida and Sunrise Movement's Philadelphia community lead, said: "The Department of Education is a human right. We are responsible as the youth to take the torch from our ancestors to continue the fight."
"The Pell Grant that allowed me to attend college is only made possible by the Department of Education," Allen added. "Trump and his billionaire Cabinet are stealing from everyday people like me and our opportunities to access education."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'No More Cuts': Colorado Teachers Rally for Quality Education
"We must take action to protect funding for education in Colorado to ensure that the budget is no longer balanced off the backs of students," the state's largest teachers' union said.
Mar 20, 2025
Thousands of teachers and allies rallied at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver Thursday to demand that officials stop diverting money meant for public education to balance the state's budget.
Led by the Colorado Education Association (CEA), the state's largest teachers union, protesters wore crimson T-shirts reading "#RedForEd," a nationwide campaign for quality public education. Demonstrators chanted slogans including, "You left us no choice, we have to use our teacher voice!" and held placards with messages including "No More Cuts" and "Fund the Future."
CEA president Kevin Vick told Chalkbeat Colorado that "we feel like we've done our time. We simply are at our limit and we can't absorb any more losses."
"Districts are operating at such a thin margin that if there is significant losses in revenue at this point, it's going to mean a lot of teachers lost," Vick added. "It's going to mean a lot of schools closing."
Thousands of teachers, parents, students, and educators at the state capitol today asking Governor Polis to properly fund education. Colorado consistently ranks below average on education funding.
[image or embed]
— Allen Cowgill (@allencowgill.bsky.social) March 20, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Rob Gould, president of the Denver Classroom Teacher's Association, told KMGH that "our teachers are tired of always—and every year—balancing the budget on the backs of our students."
Many Colorado school districts canceled classes for the day due to the high number teachers who said they would miss work to attend the protest. The Colorado Sun reported that around two-thirds of schools in Denver, the state's largest district, were closed Thursday.
Rally participants demanded that state lawmakers and Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis preserve education funding jin the face of a $1.2 billion budget shortfall for next fiscal year. This could complicate a promise by Polis and lawmakers to stop using a mechanism called a budget stabilization factor—often derisively dubbed the "B.S. factor"—to divert funding from public schools to cover other budget items. Colorado state lawmakers are now considering allocating less money than promised to school districts in order to address the projected deficit.
Huge crowd of teachers, students and community (including my 1st grade kiddo) rallying at the Colorado State Capitol right now for the statewide day of action to protect public education. It’s time to get rid of TABOR and fully fund our public schools! #coleg #copolitics
[image or embed]
— Lauren Gifford 🌱🌎🌲 (@laurengifford.bsky.social) March 20, 2025 at 11:34 AM
According to Colorado Public Radio:
Last year, state lawmakers voted to fully fund Colorado schools by no longer withholding funding from schools and diverting it to other departments. In January, two studies commissioned by lawmakers concluded that full funding—$9.8 billion this year—isn't enough. The studies said Colorado needs to spend $3.5 billion to $4.1 billion more per year to adequately fund its public schools.
But two months later, it's clear that doing so will be impossible in the short term and could mean asking voters for more money in the long term. A coalition of education advocacy groups say lawmakers' current struggles and the history of K-12 spending in the state illustrate why Colorado needs to discuss a long-term solution to increase revenue for school funding.
"Colorado students and educators are already being asked to do more with less every year—and now lawmakers are considering even more cuts to public education," CEA said in a statement promoting Thursday's rally. "Despite being one of the wealthiest states in the country, Colorado chronically underfunds its public schools by $4,000 to $4,500 per student per year compared to the national average."
"Now, facing a budget shortfall of over $1 billion, we must take action to protect funding for education in Colorado to ensure that the budget is no longer balanced off the backs of students across all four corners of the state," the union added. "Let's be clear: A cut is a cut, and students pay the price."
Thursday's rally came as U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the states."
Joan Marcano, whose two daughters attend a Denver elementary school that was closed for the day, said he backs the protesters.
"I support the teachers," he told KMGH. "These are the people who take care of my daughters every day."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'National Disgrace': Sanders and Senate Dems Call Out Trump Attack on Education Dept
"Our nation's public schools, colleges, and universities are preparing the next generation of America's leaders—we must take steps to strengthen education in this country, not take a wrecking ball to the agency that exists to do so."
Mar 17, 2025
In a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Monday, Sen. Bernie Sanders led more than three dozen of his Democratic colleagues in dismissing the Trump administration's "false claims of financial savings" from slashing more than 1,000 jobs at the Education Department, emphasizing that the wealthy people leading federal policy "will not be harmed by these egregious attacks" on public schools.
"Wealthy families sending their children to elite, private schools will still be able to get a quality education even if every public school disappears in this country," reads the letter spearheaded by Sanders (I-Vt.), the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. "But for working-class families, high-quality public education is an opportunity they rely on for their children to have a path to do well in life."
The decision by President Donald Trump and his unelected billionaire ally, Elon Musk of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to slash the Department of Education (DOE) workforce by 50%—or 1,300 people—and take steps to illegally close the agency has already had an impact on students, noted the senators, pointing to a glitch in the Free Application for Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA) that preventing families from accessing the applications "not even 24 hours after the staff reductions were announced."
"The staff normally responsible for fixing those errors had reportedly been cut," reads the letter, which was also signed by lawmakers including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
"Without the Department of Education, there is no guarantee that states would uphold students' civil and educational rights."
The letter was sent as The Associated Press reported that cuts within the DOE's Office of Civil Rights have placed new barriers in front of families with children who have disabilities. Families who can't afford to take legal action against schools or districts that are not providing accommodations or services for students with disabilities have long been able to rely on on the office to open an investigation into their cases, but the AP reported that "more than 20,000 pending cases—including those related to kids with disabilities, historically the largest share of the office's work—largely sat idle for weeks after Trump took office."
"A freeze on processing the cases was lifted early this month, but advocates question whether the department can make progress on them with a smaller staff," reported the outlet.
The reduction in force has been compounded by the fact that the remaining staff has been directed to prioritize antisemitism cases, as the Trump administration places significant attention on allegations that pro-Palestinian organizers, particularly on college campuses, have endangered Jewish students by speaking out in favor of Palestinian rights and against Israel's U.S.-backed assault on Gaza and the West Bank.
An analysis of more than 550 campus protests found that 97% of the demonstrations last year remained non-violent, contrary to repeated claims by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers that they placed Jewish students in danger. Meanwhile, the Trump administration, pro-Israel advocates, and Republicans have dismissed outcry over Musk's display of a Nazi salute at an inaugural event in January.
"Special needs kids [are] now suffering because of a manufactured hysteria aimed [at] silencing dissent against genocide," said writer and political analyst Yousef Munayyer. "Utter depravity."
In their letter, Sanders and his Democratic colleagues noted that "several regional offices responsible for investigating potential violations of students' civil rights in local schools" have also been shuttered, expressing alarm that many cases will likely "go uninvestigated and that students will be left in unsafe learning environments as a result."
They noted that at a time of "massive income and wealth inequality, when 60% of people live paycheck to paycheck," the federal government's defunding of public education "would result in either higher property taxes or decreased funding for public schools, including in rural areas."
"It is a national disgrace that the Trump administration is attempting to illegally abolish the Department of Education and thus, undermine a high-quality education for our students," wrote the lawmakers. "These reductions will have devastating impacts on our nation's students and we are deeply concerned that without staff, the department will be unable to fulfill critical functions, such as ensuring students can access federal financial aid, upholding students' civil rights, and guaranteeing that federal funding reaches communities promptly and is well-spent."
Trump, they noted, has expressed a desire "to return education back to the states" despite the fact that state governments and local school boards already make education policy, with just 11% of public education funding coming from the DOE.
However, "the Department of Education has a necessary and irreplaceable responsibility to implement federal laws that ensure equal opportunity for all children in this country," they wrote. "These laws guarantee fundamental protections, such as ensuring that children with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, that students from low-income backgrounds and students of color will not be disproportionately taught by less experienced and qualified teachers, and that parents will receive information about their child's academic achievement."
"Without the Department of Education, there is no guarantee that states would uphold students' civil and educational rights," said the lawmakers. "We will not stand by as you attempt to turn back the clock on education in this country through gutting the Department of Education. Our nation's public schools, colleges, and universities are preparing the next generation of America's leaders—we must take steps to strengthen education in this country, not take a wrecking ball to the agency that exists to do so."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Another Unqualified Billionaire': Senate Confirms McMahon as Education Secretary
"The more the president stacks his administration with eccentric billionaires, the further the system gets rigged against working people, seniors, and students," argued one critic.
Mar 03, 2025
Continuing what one watchdog called "their pattern of rubber-stamping deeply flawed and unqualified" Cabinet nominees of President Donald Trump, Senate Republicans on Monday confirmed sports entertainment billionaire and prolific GOP fundraiser Linda McMahon to head the U.S. Department of Education—an agency the president has repeatedly vowed to abolish.
Senators confirmed McMahon in a 51-45 vote. The loyal Trump ally and top fundraiser previously led the Small Business Administration during the president's first term. However, other than serving one year on the Connecticut Board of Education and as a trustee for Sacred Heart University, she has little experience in the field.
Republicans—many of whom share Trump's desire to end the Department of Education—didn't seem to care, with Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa asserting that "education is still mostly a state and local responsibility."
BREAKING: Senate Republicans just confirmed Linda McMahon as Education Secretary—another unqualified billionaire who doesn't understand the Department she's tasked with leading and who is ready to grab the hatchet and help Trump destroy the Department of Education altogether.
— Senator Patty Murray (@murray.senate.gov) March 3, 2025 at 3:29 PM
McMahon gained a more dubious reputation for what one campaigner called her "documented history of enabling sexual abuse of children and sweeping sexual violence under the rug" during her tenure as World Wrestling Entertainment CEO.
The 76-year-old finds herself in the position of being simultaneously tasked with dismantling the DOE and ramping up attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; "woke" education; transgender students; and other right-wing bugaboos. She is also expected to promote expanded voucher programs, which supporters call "school choice."
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers—which is leading a "Protect Our Kids" nationwide day of action Tuesday—said in a statement that "we know we will disagree with Secretary McMahon on a host of issues, including her stance on using public funds for private school vouchers."
"We're deeply concerned that her boss, Donald Trump, wants her to take a wrecking ball to the Department of Education and this nation's public schools," Weingarten added. "We want to work with her on strengthening public schools and ramping up high school career and technical education and workforce development efforts across the nation. We ask that she respect the hardworking and amazing educators of this country who are helping young people every day."
National Education Association president Becky Pringle said in a
statement that "every student—no matter where they live, how much their family earns, or the color of their skin—deserves the opportunity, resources, and support they need to grow into their full brilliance."
"Linda McMahon has pledged to dismantle public education and take away resources students need by hollowing out the Department of Education, destroying programs that support students with disabilities, making higher education less accessible, and gutting civil rights protections," Pringle continued.
"While educators and parents would hope McMahon will reflect upon the enormous responsibility she has to our nation's students, sadly there is no evidence to believe she will use her position to focus on strengthening public schools so every student can thrive," she added.
Tony Carrk, the executive director of the watchdog Accountable.US, argued that "every senator who confirmed McMahon is now complicit in the Trump-Project 2025 scheme to abolish the Education Department and jeopardize billions in federal funding needed to strengthen public schools and support special education programs."
"The one-two gut punch of the administration's plans to starve states,
especially conservative ones, of critical federal Medicaid and education money to pay for another wasteful tax break for billionaires like McMahon will leave millions of Americans behind for decades to come," Carrk added. "The more the president stacks his administration with eccentric billionaires, the further the system gets rigged against working people, seniors, and students."
Keep ReadingShow Less
See More
Most Popular
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy