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Newsweek
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Parents Deserve Choices, but Not at Public Schools' Expense
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Public education is the great equalizer. Like millions of American students across the country today, growing up, I had only what my neighborhood school provided. And, in my case, it was a good start. It allowed an economically disadvantaged English learner to go on to earn a doctorate and advise the president of the United States. Still, I believe in school choice. In fact, I am a product of school choice. I chose to attend a public technical high school instead of the traditional neighborhood option. Thirty years later, I believe that choice helped me get to the position of secretary of education. My career as an educator—and, more importantly, as a father—confirms my belief that every parent should have options on how to educate their children. Whether they have chosen public schools, independent schools, parochial/religious schools, charter or magnet schools, I have seen students flourish. What I do not believe in is reducing public education dollars to fund vouchers or academic scholarships to private institutions. While many of those institutions do great work preparing students, they take funding from underperforming schools that are so cash-strapped that they are already unable to provide students basic services or adequate learning conditions. Community members hold signs and rally in front of the Department of Education to protest budget cuts on March 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. Community members hold signs and rally in front of the Department of Education to protest budget cuts on March 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty In fact, the national proliferation of voucher programs is contributing to the defunding of public education, an effort that the current administration seems to be accelerating with their policies. The impact of this will be felt in many ways, not least our country's stand in the world, which will be dependent on the decisions that are made in education in the next few years. We are at a fork in the road. Do we continue to defund public schools at a time when teachers make on average 24 percent less than other professionals with similar degrees? When students' academic and mental health needs are at crisis level? When facilities are crumbling around our children's heads, as I saw when I visited schools in all 50 states as secretary? School and district leaders had decisions to make such as whether to fix a broken air handling system or hire a reading teacher to help students who are performing two years behind. Recruiting and retaining educators is very challenging given the lack of respect our public schools and educators are getting. What happens when we run out of highly qualified teachers and leaders? We risk academic progress, we risk safety, we even risk schools closing because we do not have enough staff—remember the 2021 COVID-19 Omicron wave? Closed schools are bad for kids and bad for the economy. Will we invest in the supports our schools need, such as robust arts programs, intervention and enrichment programs for all students, emotional and behavioral support for the students who struggle the most, highly qualified and supported educators, and ample college and career pathways so our students graduate with options, like I did? Education Secretary Miguel Cardona testifies during the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hearing on the "FY2024 Request for the United States Department of Education," in Rayburn Building... Education Secretary Miguel Cardona testifies during the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hearing on the "FY2024 Request for the United States Department of Education," in Rayburn Building on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. More Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty If we continue down the path of subsidizing for-profit schools, we will turn a public good into a commercial product whose benefit will be measured by profits, not equitable student outcomes. We know that it costs more to educate students with disabilities. It costs more to educate students who are suffering from trauma or have mental health needs. It costs more to support students who have reading difficulties, or are learning English. If the goal of privatizing education through vouchers is to make a profit, it would be less desirable to accept students who cost more to educate. What we would end up with are school vouchers being used for "desirable" students in private schools, while the students with greater needs are left behind in sinking public schools that were already underfunded. In 2024, I visited a school district in Indiana whose superintendent told me that she had to take $12 million out of her operating budget for vouchers. Despite the great need in her district, she now had to subsidize private education with her taxpayer-funded allocation. A school principal in the same district told me that despite the private schools getting and keeping the money, the parents of some students with disabilities were told to return their child to their local public school to ensure they received adequate services. In other words, their children were too expensive to educate. I believe we must not fall down the rabbit hole of vouchers. Yes, school choice is important and private schools should be an option—but public education dollars should not be used to ensure access to prestigious schools to the families with the greatest influence or best lawyers. Nor should paying for these private options use the funding that is currently allocated to allow students to receive after-school tutoring, join a math club or share their talents on the stage or athletic field. While the work to improve the outcomes and efficacy of public education is ongoing and critical, imagine what is possible for our country when we fully invest in the education of all students to reach their God-given potential. ▸ Miguel Cardona is a lifelong educator and president of Cardona Solutions. He most recently served as U.S. secretary of education under President Joe Biden.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
162 House Democrats Urge HHS to Restore Title X Funds
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building is seen on March 27, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Credit - Kayla Bartkowski—Getty Images More than 150 House Democrats signed a letter sent to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on April 3, calling for the department to undo the freeze on millions of dollars allocated for family planning services. The letter, shared exclusively with TIME, comes after HHS confirmed this week that it is withholding Title X funds from 16 organizations 'pending an evaluation of possible violations' of federal civil rights laws and President Donald Trump's Executive Order declaring that undocumented immigrants are barred 'from obtaining most taxpayer-funded benefits.' Title X is the nation's only federally funded program dedicated solely to family planning, and each year allocates millions of dollars for clinics that provide birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing, and other health care services for people from low-income households. HHS did not respond to TIME's questions earlier this week about the details of the 'possible violations,' how much money was being withheld from the affected organizations, and which organizations were being hit by the funding freeze. It also did not respond to a further request for comment today, April 3. More than $200 million is allocated for Title X annually. On March 25, the Wall Street Journal reported that HHS was considering freezing $27.5 million of those Title X funds. One of the largest Title X providers, Planned Parenthood, said on March 31 that nine of its affiliates were informed by the federal government that their Title X funding was being withheld as of April 1. Read More: Trump Administration Freezes Critical Title X Funding for 16 Organizations The letter sent to Kennedy on April 3 was an effort led by seven House Democrats: Rep. Judy Chu, California; Rep. Diana DeGette, Colorado; Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts; Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, New Mexico; Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, Texas; Rep. Sharice Davids, Kansas; and Rep. Nikema Williams, Georgia. The 162 House Democrats who signed it said in the letter that Title X has been 'a cornerstone of safety-net care' for decades. 'Championed by then-Congressman George H.W. Bush and signed into law by President Nixon, Title X allows a diverse network of providers to deliver high-quality care to low-income, uninsured, or underinsured individuals confidentially,' the letter said. 'These centers offer care to populations that often face severe structural and systemic barriers to accessing quality health care, including individuals with no or insufficient insurance and rural and underserved communities. Freezing funds for this essential program will harm communities that otherwise may not have access to care.' According to the letter, Title X-funded clinics provided services to 2.8 million people in 2023. In 2016, 60% of the women who received birth control from a clinic participating in the Title X program revealed that that was their only source of health care the year before, according to the letter. The letter also cited a report from the Guttmacher Institute, which researches and supports sexual and reproductive health and rights, that found that every dollar spent on Title X services saves $7 in Medicaid-related expenses. Reproductive rights experts have called the freeze 'absolutely devastating,' saying that Title X allows many people to access critical health care services they may not otherwise be able to afford. Experts at the Guttmacher Institute estimated that between 600,000 and 1.25 million people could be affected by the freeze annually. In the letter, the signatories also said they were 'outraged that reports suggest that this funding is being frozen because of claims that it might support 'diversity, equity, and inclusion.'' Essential Access Health, which distributes Title X funds to health care centers in California and Hawaii, said in a press release on April 1 that it was informed that its Title X funds were being temporarily withheld pending 'an inquiry regarding compliance with federal policy and practices related to civil rights and Executive Orders focused on DEI activities.' Trump signed an Executive Order on his first day in office that was aimed at dismantling DEI initiatives. 'This is another way of saying that this program is used to help people of color access care,' the letter said. 'Nearly half of the people served each year by Title X are people of color, the vast majority are people with low-incomes and most Title X users are women. A federal program's ability to provide care to people from historically marginalized and underserved communities does not make it wrong or illegal. To suggest otherwise implies that HHS would determine who is worthy of taxpayer dollars based on the color of their skin.' House Democrats who signed the letter urged Kennedy to restore all the Title X funding to the affected organizations, requesting a 'prompt reply to coordinate a meeting on this matter' and offering to introduce Kennedy to providers, community leaders, and patients who can speak to the importance of the federal program. 'We hope your agency will not be so reckless as to upend nearly half a century of bipartisan achievement and place Title X on the [Department of Government Efficiency] chopping block without hearing firsthand the consequences of that action,' the letter said. Contact us at letters@
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How Mass Layoffs at the IRS Will Affect Tax Season
A sign for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seen on its building in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 13, 2025. Credit - Kayla Bartkowski / Getty Images The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has fired 7,000 workers in Washington, D.C., and around the country—layoffs occurring right as the 2025 tax return filing season hits full steam. The cuts are one step in the charge of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency's goal of to reduce the deficit by $1 trillion—which has begun with mass layoffs at multiple government agencies, leaving federal employees baffled and setting the stage for future legal battles. In a statement obtained by the Washington Post, former IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, who worked under President Donald Trump's first term, stated that 'there should not be a significant impact on current filing season operations.' Some experts are expecting potential disruptions, though. 'If you fire thousands of IRS employees broadly during the tax season, it's hard to do that in a way that doesn't pose risks to the filing season,' said Michael Kaercher, Deputy Director of the Tax Law Center at NYU Law. 'They've said that they are not firing people who are critical to the tax filing season, but until we know exactly who those folks who have been let go are, I don't know that we can verify that with any level of certainty.' Read More: Here's When You Can Expect Your IRS Tax Refund and How You Can Track It Kaercher says that risks to the filing season could include delayed tax refunds, inability to answer as many phone calls or help lines, and 'there's a question of whether they retained the right people in house' to quickly solve technical issues should they arise during tax season. Kaercher also notes there were reports of the IRS removing several pages sections of their Internal Revenue Manual, which outlines its policies and procedures, which could prevent taxpayers from fully complying with their fine obligations. Kaercher notes that these changes will not simply affect this tax season, but could have long-term effects on the work of the tax agency. 'The layoffs will undermine revenue collection and increase the budget deficit. Most of the IRS employees laid off worked in tax compliance, which raises revenue by preventing tax fraud.' Kaercher wrote on X. 'These cuts will encourage wealthy people and large corporations to cheat on their taxes. After a decade of sharp budget cuts, audit rates for high-income people and large corporations plummeted.' Ed Oswald, partner at Orrick Law Firm in Washington D.C. and former attorney-advisor for the U.S. Treasury Department says there are a few ways that taxpayers can prepare themselves for both the short and long-term consequences of the IRS cuts, especially as he expects 'less regulation, less clarity and less guidance.' 'Keep in close tax contact with your CPAs or accountants who are working with you in terms of a tax return,' Oswald said. 'Try to document matters the best you can…even though the IRS is really dropping the ball here, you want to show as a taxpayer, you're being as responsive as possible and trying to solicit and close the matter.' Contact us at letters@
