Tag: Cancellation

  • Democratic AGs sue over cancellation of teacher grants

    Democratic AGs sue over cancellation of teacher grants

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    Dive Brief:

    • Democratic attorneys generals in eight states said the U.S. Department of Education “arbitrarily” and “improperly” terminated about $600 million in teacher training grants, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in the District of Massachusetts
    • The complaint said the abrupt cancellation of the grants will “immediately disrupt teacher workforce pipelines, increase reliance on underqualified educators, and destabilize local school systems.” The lawsuit seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions to restore funding and access to these programs.
    • The suit is the second filed against the grants termination — the first one came three days earlier from three teacher preparation groups — and adds to mounting legal pushback to the Trump administration’s efforts to scrub programs associated with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

    Dive Insight:

    The Education Department recently confirmed that the grant programs impacted by the cuts announced last month were for the Teacher Quality Partnership Program and the Supporting Effective Educator Development Grant. The agency said the cuts were made because the programs trained teachers on “divisive ideologies.”

    Examples the agency provided in its Feb. 17 announcement included professional development workshops on dismantling racial bias and activities that required educators to take personal and institutional responsibility for systemic inequities.

    Supporters of DEI rollbacks in education view the activities as illegal discrimination and wasteful spending of federal funds.

    But those opposing the grant eliminations say the programs help address a severe lack of teachers and support students in underserved areas.

    “Kids in rural and underserved communities deserve access to a quality education, and programs like SEED and TQP help bring qualified teachers to classrooms that desperately need it,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, in a March 6 statement. “Slashing funding for these critical programs robs students of the opportunity to succeed and thrive.”

    In New York, James said the cancellation of TQP programs at SUNY Buffalo, Buffalo Public Schools, Buffalo Academy of Science Charter, and REACH Academy Charter School alone would impact more than 120 teachers and about 13,000 students. Also affected by the elimination of SEED programs are 100 teachers and some 6,000 pre-K-12 students at SUNY Buffalo, Buffalo Public Schools, Amherst Central School District, and Kenmore Tonawanda Union-Free School District. 

    Joining James in the lawsuit were attorneys general from seven other states: California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland and Wisconsin.

    Just days earlier, on March 3, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, National Center for Teacher Residencies and Maryland Association of Colleges for Teacher Education also sued to overturn the program cuts. That challenge, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, said the Education Department “failed to follow statute and Federal regulations in terminating the grants.” 

    Additionally, more than 100 national and state education organizations sent a letter to congressional leaders last week urging them to reverse the cancellations of SEED, TQP and the Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program grants.

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  • Cancellation of Education Department research contracts sparks concerns

    Cancellation of Education Department research contracts sparks concerns

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    Dive Brief:

    • The U.S. Department of Education abruptly canceled about $881 million in multiyear research contracts on Monday, sparking a storm of protest from groups concerned about a loss of data accuracy and the dissemination of evidence-based practices.
    • The temporary Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, said the contracts terminated by the Education Department’s Institute of Educational Sciences include 29 related to diversity, equity and inclusion that total $101 million. 
    • Activities involving the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the College Scorecard and the College Navigator were not impacted by the cancellations, a department spokesperson said in an email.

    Dive Insight:

    In total, 89 IES contracts worth nearly $900 million were canceled, according to DOGE and the Education Department. The Education Department did not respond to a request for a list of the canceled contracts or provide a reason for the terminations.

    President Donald Trump has pledged to eliminate the Education Department, although that action would need congressional approval. As a first step, Trump is expected to issue an executive order in the near future limiting the department’s power and responsibilities. 

    Last month, the Education Department said it had “removed or archived” hundreds of DEI-related outward-facing documents — including guidance, reports and training materials — to comply with Trump’s executive order to end federal DEI activities. The Education Department also recently put employees charged with leading DEI efforts on paid leave.

    As the education field was attempting to better understand the reach of the canceled contracts, several individuals and organizations expressed concern.

    The “robust collection and analysis of data are essential for ensuring quality education,” according to a joint statement on Monday from the American Education Research Association and the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics.

    The organizations said the contract terminations will prevent the National Center for Education Statistics from participating in international assessments and reporting data on school, college and university finances. Also concerning will be the loss of future survey data to understand the extent of teacher shortages and chronic absenteeism in schools, they said. 

    Limiting NCES’ work “will have ramifications for the accuracy of national-level data on the condition and progress of education, from early childhood through postsecondary to adult workforce,” AERA and COPAFS said. As a result,  “student learning and development will be harmed.”

    EdTrust, a nonprofit that aims to eliminate racial and economic barriers in schools, said the abrupt cancellations jeopardize “our collective responsibility to identify and address” inequities affecting populations including students from low-income families, students of color, English language learners, students with disabilities, student parents, and rural students. 

    Sameer Gadkaree, president and CEO of the Institute for College Access & Success, pointed to a risk that “core Congressional mandates — including increasing transparency and improving student outcomes through evidence-based strategies — will be delayed and may not be possible.

    “Without action, ongoing data collection efforts will be impaired and future availability of basic, up-to-date information will be at risk,” Gadkaree said in a statement Tuesday.

    But some saw the move as a restart for federal education research.

    Mark Schneider, director of the Institute of Education Sciences from 2017 to 2024 and currently a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, addressed the matter during a LinkedIn conversation Tuesday with Bellwether, a nonprofit education research and analysis organization. 

    IES systems need to be re-evaluated and modernized, said Schneider, adding he wished he could have made large-scale reforms as director of IES. “Do I wish I had even a modicum of the power that that DOGE [has]? Yes, of course,” he said.

    He said the federal education research arm needs significant rebuilding by people knowledgeable about research infrastructure. 

    “I think we have to understand that this is not a tragedy. This is not a catastrophe. This is an opportunity,” said Scheider.

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