EDUCATION POLICIES, ANALYSIS, AND RESOURCES
The Education Domain tracks and reports on policies that deal with school choice, student loans, curriculum reform efforts, teacher unions, students with disabilities, affirmative action, minority students, vocational training and higher education. This domain tracks policies emanating from the White House, the Department of Education and state legislatures.
Latest Education Posts
DeVos Rescinds Special Education Guidances
Stating that the move would in no way impact the services currently received by disabled students, DeVos rescinded 72 special education guidance documents that her department referred to as “outdated, unnecessary or ineffective.” Many of the documents, including those titled “Implementing Community-based Educational Programs…
DeVos Signals Change in Sexual Assault Policies
Signaling that she will be revising the previous administration’s sexual assault policies, Education Sect. Betsy DeVos has left the public wondering how the Trump Administration will interpret the protections entitled by Title IX, the 1972 civil rights policy which among other things, protects victims of sexual violence at…
Student Protections from For-Profit Universities Postponed
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has postponed the implementation of two Obama era guidances aimed at protecting students from predatory for-profit colleges. The rules that were set to go into effect on July 1, called the “borrower defense to repayment” and “gainful employment” regulations, are stricter versions of protections…
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Religious Pre-school
On the grounds of free exercise of religion, the Supreme ruled in favor of a Missouri church this week who had been denied state funding to refurbish their playground surface. The case Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, arose after the state of Missouri would not allow state funds to be given to the church’s preschool to resurface…
READ Act
Aiming to give the nearly 263 million children and adolescents who are out of school worldwide access to a quality education, the READ Act or the Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development Act, has been placed on the Senate calendar after passing the House in January. The act is geared toward providing additional “direction and scrutiny” for…
The Budget: Department of Education Facing 13.5 Percent Cut
Donald Trump’s new budget plan proposes cutting 13.5 percent or $9.2 billion from education, paving the way for $1.4 billion to go towards the administration’s top education priority, a school choice voucher program. These cuts would eliminate government subsidized student loans and put an end to student debt…
Student Loan Interest Rises
New Student loan borrowers will see a jump in their interest rates beginning in July. Interest rates on new government loans are set to rise by 0.69 percentage point (from 3.76 percent to 4.45 percent) nearly a 20 percent increase for undergraduate borrowers. Some graduate loan rates will also rise from 5.31 percent to 6 percent…
Relaxation of School Lunch Nutrition Regulations
As a result of what was said to be years of feedback from students, schools and food service experts, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has announced a greater flexibility in the current nutrition requirements for schools set by the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010; restoring local control of food guidelines…
Study of the Federal Role within the Education System
In accordance with a new executive order, Betsy DeVos will be conducting a study into whether or not the federal government has “overstepped” its oversight of K-12 schools. The order was framed by Donald Trump as a part of a broader move to bring power over the education system…