Last Week

The Big News:

So they finally did it. Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) to dismantle the US Department of Education (ED – its official government abbreviation) on Thursday, March 20th as promised.

Legally, he (and the executive branch in general) doesn’t have the authority to do this. But functionally, here’s what they’ll do: fire more staff, allegedly move “critical functions” to different departments, and keep the department “open” but gutted beyond recognition.

What will this mean for students, teachers and parents in the US? That’s much less certain, but will probably become clear in the next few months.

What Else Happened Last Week:

Friday, March 21:

• Trump announces plan to move Department of Education’s student loans to SBA and special education and nutrition services to HHS

• Columbia University agrees to the Trump administration demands around its protest policies, security practices and Middle Eastern studies department in an attempt to have $400 million in federal funding reinstated

Thursday, March 20:

• OCR finds Maine in violation of Title IX because of state/district policies which allow transgender girls to play sports, giving the state 10 days to comply with the Trump administration's interpretation of Title IX that bars trans girls and women from sports

Monday, March 17:

• Democratic members of congressional appropriations committees sent a 10-page letter to ED asking for information on the mass layoffs and stating that they could impact the department's ability to perform "required oversight functions”

• Trump administration ordered to restore teacher-prep grants through Seeking Effective Educator Development (SEED), Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) and Teacher and School Leader (TSL) Development

This Week

Watch For:

• More announcements about where - and how - Department of Education responsibilities will be moved to different agencies. Pro-tip: look at the cuts those departments have already experienced AND who heads them to get an idea of how realistic any of this is (it’s not).

• Maine’s response to their Title IX violation - they have until Saturday and I hope Governor Janet Mills sticks to her “we’ll see you in court” stance.

• Whether Columbia University manages to get any of that $400 million back by throwing their students, faculty and reputation under the bus. If this Bluesky post is to be believed, they probably won’t!

• Will the Secretary McMahon respond to the 10-page letter sent by Democrats, or continue to ignore it into a second week?

Action Items