The Trump administration continued last week to hound the nation’s universities, demanding that they cancel all diversity programs designed to include and welcome students from historically marginalized and excluded groups on the theory that such programs violate the civil rights of the white majority. The NY Times‘ Michael Bender explains: “The White House on Wednesday […]| janresseger
Before he retired in 2023 as the director of the Education Law Center, David Sciarra released a report defining the widely held principles of adequate and equitably distributed public school funding, as defined by the constitutions of the states: “Today, there is broad agreement that the education guaranteed by state constitutions must be one that […]| janresseger
On September 8th, Education Week‘s Matthew Stone and Brooke Schultz noticed that the Trump administration wasn’t any longer merely threatening school districts. The Department of Education had begun, “inserting itself more forcefully into state and local school affairs, particularly, to fight what it’s characterized as a leftward lurch in K-12 education…. It withheld nearly $7 […]| janresseger
Article VI, Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution defines the state’s responsibility to provide a strong system of public education as an essential provision of the social contract: “The General Assembly shall make such provisions, by taxation, or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school trust fund, will secure a thorough and efficient […]| janresseger
Last week, two U.S. District Court judges blocked a July 10, 2025 demand by the Trump administration that Head Start must exclude undocumented immigrant children from admission. Chalkbeat’s Erica Meltzer reports: “On Wednesday (September 10), U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy of Rhode Island blocked the rule from going into effect in D.C. and… 20 […]| janresseger
Right now at the end of the fiscal year, the Trump administration is trying to deny a stream of federal funding that has been flowing for decades to colleges and universities whose student populations include a high percentage of minority students. For Inside Higher Education, Sara Weissman reports: “The U.S. Department of Education plans to […]| janresseger
Today is September 11th, with a federal budget due by October 1st and the House and Senate in vast disagreement about the federal funding that ought to be spent on the nation’s public schools. Budget proposals from the President and both chambers of Congress have been late this year, and $6.8 billion in federal funding […]| janresseger
The Associated Press’s Collin Binkley and Michael Casey capture, the significance of last week’s decision by Massachusetts U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs to prohibit the Tr…| janresseger
The Trump administration has rescinded an important federal education guidance document released in 2015 by the Obama administration to protect the right to English language instruction for all pub…| janresseger
Late last Thursday afternoon, the Associated Press’s Collin Binkley broke a story that brought relief and satisfaction to the school superintendents and members of elected school boards acros…| janresseger
On July 31st, K-12 Dive’s Kara Arundel reported some very good news: “The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a bipartisan spending bill for fiscal year 2026 (FY 26) th…| janresseger
In the last week of June, two important events happened almost simultaneously in Ohio: A district court in Columbus found the state’s EdChoice voucher program unconstitutional, and the state …| janresseger
Last week, this blog reported, “Chaos and Confusion at U.S. Department of Education May Threaten School Programming this Fall.” This week the situation intensified. “The U.S. Dep…| janresseger
Most people count on their public schools to be solid, stable institutions. We know our school’s teachers and principal; we listen to our high school band or orchestra; and we cheer on our ch…| janresseger
In a recent blog post, Diane Ravitch considered the phrase, “diversity, equity, and inclusion” and its acronym, DEI: “The ideas of diversity, equity, and inclusion are generally and bro…| janresseger
Last Tuesday, February 25, 2025, the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association filed a lawsuit to challenge a confusing and frightening “Dear Colleague” …| janresseger
In a recent executive order, President Donald Trump dismantled programs for “diversity, equity and inclusion” at the federal level (see here and here). This week in Ohio, the state legislature is e…| janresseger
I find myself deeply troubled by President Trump’s attempt to erase diversity, equity, and inclusion from the federal government and all the public institutions, including public schools, to …| janresseger
The NY Times’ Dana Goldstein summarizes President Trump’s two executive orders last week that would shape federal K-12 public education policy: “On Wednesday evening, Mr. Trump si…| janresseger
Andy Brenner, the Chair of the Ohio Senate Education Committee, is once again pushing the Ohio Legislature to pass an old fashioned, test-and-punish school accountability bill, Senate Bill 295, in …| janresseger
Ohio’s fiscal troubles certainly have been exacerbated by the hugely expensive universal EdChoice Expansion voucher expansion now projected to divert over a billion dollars in the current fis…| janresseger
