Weekly Education

DISMANTLING THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT… OR NOT: House education committee Republicans blessed the Trump administration's Education Department breakup. Those prayers likely won't be answered in the Senate. House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans advanced a 10-bill legislative package this month that would seal the Education Department's deals to transfer key functions to other agencies across the federal government.

Colleges grappling with rising costs and declining enrollments are increasingly embracing a solution more commonly seen in the private sector: mergers. And the Trump administration wants to make it easier for these schools to join forces. ‘NOT ALL OF THEM ARE GOING TO MAKE IT': The Education Department unveiled a wide list of policy proposals in early July, including a planned rule that would streamline processes around mergers, sales and transfers of colleges and universities.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR SPECIAL ED OVERSIGHT: The Education Department has been the primary protector of the rights of students with disabilities for decades. President Donald Trump's plans for dismantling the education agency are now sparking mounting concerns that the federal government will fall short in protecting the nation's roughly 8.5 million disabled youth from discrimination.

The Trump administration's effort to transfer core responsibilities from the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights to the Justice Department is prompting a key question: What will protections for students look like now? TRANSFER BREAKDOWN — Here's what we know so far. STAFFING CONCERNS: Before the announcement, both agencies were facing staffing challenges.

The justices appeared to be leaning toward upholding the state bans on transgender athletes in Idaho and West Virginia. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP FIGHT OVER TRANS RIGHTS CONTINUES: A fierce battle over protections for transgender students is expected to rage on even after the Supreme Court decides the fate of state bans on transgender athletes competing in women’s and girls’ sports.

"We have an ideological problem, and a viewpoint diversity problem on our college campuses, where students are afraid to express who they really are,” Education Undersecretary Nicholas Kent said in an interview in May. | Win McNamee/Getty Images CAMPUS VIEWS: Trump administration officials believe conservative voices are being suppressed on college campuses. They’re now trying to give these voices room to speak.

An installer with Homestead Heating and Air works on installing a new HVAC system in a residential home on July 30, 2025, in Fate, Texas. | Tony Gutierrez/AP PLUGGING THE PELL GRANT HOLE: The Education Department just took a big step toward fulfilling Donald Trump’s pledge to boost workforce programs that don’t require a four-year degree. Now Congress has to figure out how to pay for a looming funding shortfall.

MCMAHON IS HIRING — The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights has been President Donald Trump's greatest weapon in forcing schools to bend to his will. But the office is hemorrhaging staff. Hundreds of civil rights staffers were let go during the government-wide reduction in force last year.

The Federal Student Aid office is trying to hire 334 full-time employees by 2027, a 45 percent increase from its staffing levels as of last month, according to a presentation delivered to FSA staff in mid-April. | Win McNamee/Getty Images HELP WANTED: Top leaders at the Education Department have made it known they feel their agency is “unnecessary.” But that’s not keeping them from hiring a lot more people.

With help from Isa Domínguez Education Secretary Linda McMahon testifies during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the president's proposed fiscal 2027 Education Department budget on April 28, 2026. | Mariam Zuhaib/AP TRUMP’S EDUCATION PITCH FACES HILL TEST: President Donald Trump wants to move career and technical education programs to the Labor Department. Lawmaker resistance could be a big deal.