Weekly Education

MIDTERM PUSHBACK?: Trump administration officials are feeling good about how their efforts to dismantle the Education Department have gone so far. A blue wave in the midterm elections could put a stop to that. Closing the federal education agency has long been on the conservative policy wish list. The Trump administration has worked hard toward making this a reality, transferring critical department tasks to other federal agencies using what are known as interagency agreements.

The Trump administration wants to change that. Higher education advocates have long said college aid offers are too murky, making it hard for students to compare them. Offers don't always make clear what's a loan or a grant, and students sometimes think they have more of their costs covered than they actually do.

WHAT'S AHEAD FOR HEAD START: The Trump administration's plan to loosen federal regulation of a popular early childhood education program is getting praise from conservatives who want to see it eliminated. The program's backers are ready for a legal fight.

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.