Department of Education

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Feds: George Mason Breached Civil Rights in Hiring

Department demands policy overhaul, apology from university president over DEI practices

(Newser) - The Department of Education has determined that George Mason University violated federal civil-rights law by factoring race into hiring and promotion decisions, according to an announcement on Friday. The department's Office of Civil Rights concluded that the university's practices breached Title VI, which bars discrimination based on...

DOGE Gets the OK to Access Sensitive Federal Data
DOGE Scores Another Court Win
Aug 13, 2025 8:19 AM CDT

DOGE Scores Another Court Win

Judges allow review of Americans' data from Treasury, Education Departments

(Newser) - A federal appeals court has ruled that teams from the Department of Government Efficiency can tap into sensitive databases at several federal agencies, reversing a previous block on their access . The 2-1 decision Tuesday by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals permits DOGE to retrieve information from the Treasury...

Administration Gives In, Unfreezes School Funding

Education Department says review found the money won't be used for anything conflicting with Trump's policies

(Newser) - The Trump administration has agreed to release over $5 billion in education funding it was withholding from public schools—bringing relief after weeks of uncertainty for administrators and educators—after being lobbied by politicians of both parties. The freeze, enacted June 30, put nearly $7 billion in federal grants...

Microsoft SharePoint Hack Hit US Agencies

Chinese hackers exploit vulnerability in older versions hosted by customers

(Newser) - Numerous organizations and some government agencies around the globe have been compromised in recent days as hackers exploit a vulnerability in older versions of Microsoft's file-sharing tool SharePoint. The vulnerability was discovered in versions of the software hosted by the customers themselves, as opposed to Microsoft's cloud, early...

Trump Asks SCOTUS to Leave Education Layoffs in Place
SCOTUS Says Trump Can
Resume Education Layoffs
UPDATED
Jul 14, 2025 2:48 PM CDT

SCOTUS Says Trump Can Resume Education Layoffs

A lower court blocked president's plan to dismantle department

(Newser) - The Supreme Court is allowing President Trump to put his plan to dismantle the Education Department back on track and go through with laying off nearly 1,400 employees. With the three liberal justices in dissent, the court on Monday paused an order from US District Judge Myong Joun in...

Administration Ends Pause on Interest for 7.7M Student Loans

McMahon tells borrowers to quickly move to another plan

(Newser) - About 7.7 million people enrolled in a repayment plan being litigated will again accrue interest on their student loans, the Education Department announced Wednesday. Saving on a Valuable Education borrowers had been spared the interest for the past year while the federal government was in court trying to preserve...

2M Student Loan Borrowers Could Have Wages Docked

Overdue borrowers also face credit score hits as payment relief ends

(Newser) - Nearly 2 million student loan borrowers could see their paychecks docked by the government this summer, as missed payments put them at risk of wage garnishment for the first time since the pandemic. Following the end of pandemic-era payment relief, roughly 6 million federal student loan borrowers are at...

Administration Challenges Columbia's Accreditation Status

University has been out of compliance since Hamas attacked Israel, agencies say

(Newser) - The Trump administration on Wednesday opened a new front in its battle against Columbia University, accusing the prestigious school of violating antidiscrimination laws and threatening its accreditation. The Education Department said it will notify the organization that decides accreditations that its Office for Civil Rights has determined that Columbia has...

Judge Orders Education Dept. to Reinstate Employees

He blocks Trump order to shut down department

(Newser) - A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Trump's executive order to shut down the Education Department and ordered the agency to reinstate employees who were fired in mass layoffs . US District Judge Myong Joun in Boston granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump administration from carrying out two plans...

McMahon Confuses AI and A1, Hilarity Ensues

A1 steak sauce capitalizes on education secretary's blunder

(Newser) - Education Secretary Linda McMahon appeared on a speaking panel last week to discuss how artificial intelligence might be used to improve education at any age. But the 76-year-old former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment left the impression that she could use a lesson on the technology herself. After an initial...

New York Schools Answer DEI Ultimatum With a 'No'

State education officials point out that Betsy DeVos had praised diversity and inclusion efforts

(Newser) - State education officials in New York have rejected the Trump administration's demand that they end certain diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in public schools or risk losing federal funding. A letter sent Friday to the federal Department of Education in response to the ultimatum says that the administration has...

Feds to Public Schools: Drop DEI or Lose Funding

'Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right'

(Newser) - Public schools that don't abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion policies could lose federal funding, the Department of Education warned in a letter Thursday to state officials—but it's not entirely clear which programs are still OK. The memo to officials overseeing K-12 schools included a certification letter to...

Trump: SBA Will Handle Student Loans Going Forward

His announcement comes as agency says it will cut 43% of jobs

(Newser) - The Small Business Administration's 6,500 workers make up less than half a percent of the entire federal workforce, per CBS News —and that figure is set to shrink. The agency on Friday announced that it planned to cut its workforce by 43%, for an eventual annual cost...

Trump Signs Order on Education Department, to Unclear Effect
Trump Asks Students:
'Should I Do This?'
the rundown
Mar 20, 2025 7:00 PM CDT

Trump Asks Students: 'Should I Do This?'

President signs executive order on Education Department

(Newser) - The White House made a production out of President Trump's signing of an executive order to cancel the Education Department—bringing in governors, young students, and props—while acknowledging that he lacks authority to fulfill the campaign promise. "It sounds strange, doesn't it? Department of Education. We'...

Next Executive Order Mandates Closing Education Department

White House ceremony is planned for Thursday, though elimination requires congressional action

(Newser) - President Trump plans to sign an executive order on Thursday designed to eliminate the Department of Education, White House officials said. A ceremony is scheduled in the East Room of the White House with Republican governors and state education commissioners, USA Today reports. Trump will instruct Education Secretary Linda McMahon...

Democratic AGs Sue Over 'Evisceration' of Education Dept.

Attorneys general from 20 states and DC say mass layoffs are part of illegal plan

(Newser) - Democratic attorneys generals in 20 states and Washington, DC, are taking the Trump administration to court over mass layoffs that have reduced the Department of Education's workforce to around half the size it was in January. The lawsuit, noting that President Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have "...

McMahon: Trump Isn't 'Taking Away Education'

She says mass layoffs are eliminating 'bureaucratic bloat'

(Newser) - Education Secretary Linda McMahon says mass layoffs at the Department of Education do not mean that President Trump is "taking away education"—but he still plans to eliminate the department. In a Fox News interview, McMahon told Laura Ingraham that Trump's directive to her "clearly, is...

Education Department Announces Mass Layoffs

Almost half its workforce is being cut

(Newser) - On Tuesday, Education Department employees were told that the agency's Washington headquarters and regional offices would be closed Wednesday for "security reasons." The department later announced that it was cutting almost half its workforce. Officials say 1,315 employees are being laid off and around 600 more...

Trump Appears Poised to Gut Education Dept.



Trump May Be
Ready to Gut
Education Dept.
THE RUNDOWN
Mar 6, 2025 6:37 AM CST

Trump May Be Ready to Gut Education Dept.

President is expected to sign executive order as soon as Thursday calling for shuttering of agency

(Newser) - Linda McMahon was confirmed earlier this week as the nation's new education chief, and now, she's reportedly about to receive her first major directive from her boss: Dismantle the department she's leading. The Wall Street Journal , Washington Post , and ABC News are among the outlets reporting that...

Linda McMahon Is the New Education Chief

Trump has said he wants her department dismantled

(Newser) - The Senate voted Monday to confirm former wrestling executive Linda McMahon as the nation's education chief, a role that places her atop a department that President Trump has vilified and vowed to dismantle. McMahon will face the competing tasks of winding down the Education Department while also escalating efforts...

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