Justification for arrest not clear as Trump administration increasingly targets students for arrest and deportation
US immigration authorities have detained a doctoral student at the University of Alabama, campus officials confirmed on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the state’s flagship university said in a brief statement that a student was arrested “off campus” by federal immigration officials, but declined to comment further, citing privacy laws.
Continue reading...Doubts that whatever remains of department can govern student debt as one in four US adults under 40 has loans
Donald Trump ordered the dismantling of the US Department of Education on Thursday, prompting uncertainty for those holding student debt and questions about what happens next.
Trump’s press secretary told reporters earlier on Thursday what remained of the department would continue to govern student debt.
Continue reading...Press secretary Karoline Leavitt says DoE will be ‘much smaller’ due to executive order Trump will sign as critics say it is ‘dark day’ for US children
Another, perhaps more worrying sign, of the Trump administration’s approach to economic policy was revealed yesterday, when commerce secretary Howard Lutnick recommended in a Fox News interview that people buy Tesla stock.
That’s the electric car company led by Elon Musk, who is busy right now cutting down the US government at the behest of Lutnick’s boss, Donald Trump.
I think if you want to learn something on this show tonight, buy Tesla. It’s unbelievable that this guy’s stock is this cheap. It’ll never be this cheap again. When people understand the things he’s building, the robots he’s building, the technology he’s building, people are going to be dreaming of today, and … thinking gosh, I should have bought Elon Musk’s stock.
The Fed would be MUCH better off CUTTING RATES as U.S.Tariffs start to transition (ease!) their way into the economy. Do the right thing. April 2nd is Liberation Day in America!!!
Continue reading...Firings announced Tuesday as administration decried as ‘detached from how Americans live’
The US Department of Education intends to lay off nearly half of its workforce. The layoffs of 1,300 people were announced by the department on Tuesday and described by the education secretary, Linda McMahon, as a “significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system”.
In a post on X, McMahon said: “Today’s [reduction in force] reflects our commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers.”
Continue reading...Trump administration has axed $400m in federal funding to Columbia and detained student activist Mahmoud Khalil
The Trump administration said on Tuesday that Columbia University was “refusing to help” the Department of Homeland Security identify people for arrest on campus, after immigration authorities detained a prominent Palestinian activist and recent Columbia graduate over the weekend.
The Trump White House’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said on Tuesday the administration had given the university names of multiple individuals it accused of “pro-Hamas activity”, reiterating the administration’s intention to deport activists associated with pro-Palestinian protests.
Continue reading...Education secretary Linda McMahon’s plan to eliminate department will hurt disadvantaged children, staff say
In a message to employees on Monday, the newly confirmed secretary of education, Linda McMahon, a billionaire ex-wrestling executive, laid out the “final mission” for the department as Donald Trump threatens to dismantle the agency.
“My vision is aligned with the president’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children,” wrote McMahon, a co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the professional wrestling organisation. “This is our opportunity to perform one final, unforgettable public service to future generations of students.”
Continue reading...Hunter College faculty and staff union condemns Kathy Hochul’s order to take down listing, calling it ‘overreach of authority’
The New York governor, Kathy Hochul ordered the City University of New York (Cuny) to immediately remove a job posting advertising a Palestinian studies professor role at the state university system’s Hunter College.
In the job listing, Hunter College wrote that the institution is seeking “a historically grounded scholar who takes a critical lens to issues pertaining to Palestine including but not limited to: settler colonialism, genocide, human rights, apartheid, migration, climate and infrastructure devastation, health, race, gender, and sexuality”.
Continue reading...Education department gives ultimatum to stop using ‘racial preferences’ as factors in admissions or risk losing money
The Trump administration is giving the US’s schools and universities two weeks to eliminate diversity initiatives or risk losing federal money, raising the stakes in the president’s fight against “wokeness”.
In a memo on Friday, the education department gave an ultimatum to stop using “racial preferences” as a factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring or other areas. Schools are being given 14 days to end any practice that treats students or workers differently because of their race.
Continue reading...Officials are discussing executive order as part of efforts by Musk’s Doge team to seize control of federal spending
The Trump administration is weighing executive actions to dismantle the US education department as part of efforts by Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) to seize control of federal spending and slash the size of the government workforce, the Wall Street Journal reported.
US officials have discussed an executive order that would shut down all functions of the education department that are not written explicitly into statute, or move certain functions to other departments, according to the paper, citing sources.
Continue reading...Proposal from state board of education condemned by teachers and rights groups, as parents and students protest
Parents enrolling children in Oklahoma public schools will be required to provide proof of their child’s US citizenship or legal immigration status under a proposed rule approved Tuesday by the state board of education.
The board voted unanimously to approve the rule aimed at helping Donald Trump’s immigration policies. It still needs to be approved by the legislature and the governor.
Continue reading...Authorities say hospitalized students are five and six, and man on scene was found dead of self-inflicted gunshot
Two students were injured in a school shooting in northern California, officials said on Wednesday afternoon, and the suspected shooter is dead. The injured students are five and six years old, according to KCRA, Sacramento’s NBC affiliate station. The students are being treated for the injuries, Butte county sheriff, Kory Honea told reporters on Wednesday.
The shooting took place at the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Oroville, a city of 20,000 people in the state’s far north. Honea told media that around 1pm his office began receiving calls from the school about an individual on campus firing shots at students. Deputies responded immediately, Honea said, and found a man on scene dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot.
Continue reading...Mike Rounds submitted bill that needs supermajority to pass, unlikely even in GOP-controlled Senate next year
A bill that would accomplish Donald Trump’s goal of abolishing the federal Department of Education has been introduced into the US Senate.
The Republican senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota introduced the bill, called the Returning Education to Our States Act, on Thursday. If passed, the bill would see $200bn in funding and the work of the education department redistributed to other federal agencies and states.
Continue reading...Billionaire and former Senate candidate served in president-elect’s cabinet in first administration
Linda McMahon, co-chair of Donald Trump’s transition team, has been named as the president-elect’s pick for education secretary in his upcoming administration.
In a statement, Trump extolled the “incredible” job McMahon, the billionaire co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), has been doing as transition team co-chair and said: “As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families. … We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort.”
Continue reading...Concerned students press for their high schools – some with $1bn endowments – to reinvest in clean energy
A high school in California has decided not to invest in coal, oil or gas, instead pledging to put money into clean energy. It’s the latest win in a new fossil fuel divestment campus campaign launched by high schoolers across 11 countries that is gaining support in the US.
The Nueva School, an elite private school outside San Francisco, pledged in spring 2024 to invest a portion of its $55m endowment in renewable power. The commitment followed months of pressure from students.
Continue reading...Israeli student filed lawsuit after suspension for spraying pro-Palestinian protesters with foul-smelling substance
Columbia University has reached a $395,000 settlement with a student who was suspended in January after spraying student protesters with a foul-smelling substance at one of several campus demonstrations in support of Palestine.
The Israeli student who received the payout had been suspended until May.
Continue reading...Prosecutors say impersonators took tests on behalf of applicants, and testing proctor was allegedly bribed
Five people in Texas have been charged in connection with an alleged fraudulent teacher certification scheme, which prosecutors say was used to improperly certify hundreds of unqualified teachers to work in local school districts throughout the state.
At a press conference on Monday led by the Harris county district attorney, Kim Ogg, prosecutors said the alleged scheme generated at least a million dollars and was used to certify more than 200 unqualified teachers who are currently or have previously worked in Texas public schools.
Continue reading...Authorities say suspect, 14, also wounded nine others, with FBI later saying they had investigated him and his father a year ago
Two students and two teachers were killed at a Georgia high school on Wednesday in a mass shooting authorities say was committed by a 14-year-old male student at the school.
At least nine others were taken to the hospital following the incident at Apalachee high school in Winder, about 50 miles north-east of Atlanta.
Continue reading...Amherst College and Tufts University report lower number of Black students this year as white enrollment increases
Enrollment for Black students fell at two elite US colleges in the first class since the supreme court’s decision last year to strike down affirmative action in college admissions and upend the nation’s academic landscape.
Amherst College and Tufts University, both in Massachusetts, reported a drop in the share of Black first-year students, an early sign that the high court’s ruling could negatively affect racial diversity in the US’s more selective colleges and universities, according to the New York Times.
Continue reading...Republican vice-presidential candidate criticizes ‘leaders on the left’ and Randi Weingarten in 2021 clip
JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential candidate and US senator from Ohio, attacked teachers who do not have children in newly resurfaced remarks from 2021.
In the resurfaced clip, Vance, who was speaking at a forum held by the Center for Christian Virtue, attacks “leaders on the left” and Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, for not having children.
Continue reading...Schools’ investment in social-emotional support appears to pay off, especially for girls, but work is ‘far from complete’
A recently released study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows levels of sadness and hopelessness are improving in some US teenagers, and notably among girls.
However,, the survey and experts said, challenges remain, as some metrics worsened in the most recent report. Of particular concern is a growing group of students who missed school because they did not feel safe.
Continue reading...