Latest news with #USEducationDepartment
USA Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump cannot proceed with gutting US Education Department, court rules
Trump cannot proceed with gutting US Education Department, court rules DOJ had asked for a swift ruling from the 1st Circuit US Court of Appeals so that it could promptly take the case up to the Supreme Court if it lost Show Caption Hide Caption How would a Dept. of Education closure affect Americans? U.S. President Donald Trump moved to eliminate the Department of Education. But he can't shutter the agency without congressional legislation. BOSTON, June 4 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court has declined to lift a judge's order blocking President Donald Trump's administration from carrying out his executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and requiring it to reinstate employees who were terminated in a mass layoff. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 4 rejected the Trump administration's request to put on hold an injunction issued by a lower-court judge last week at the urging of several Democratic-led states, school districts and teachers' unions. The U.S. Department of Justice had asked for a swift ruling from the 1st Circuit so that it could promptly take the case up to the 6-3 conservative majority U.S. Supreme Court if the appeals court did not rule in its favor. More: Education Secretary Linda McMahon: Layoffs are 'first step' to remove 'bureaucratic bloat' The lawsuits were filed after Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in March announced plans to carry out a mass termination of over 1,300 employees, which would cut the department's staff by half as part of what it said was its "final mission." Those job cuts were announced a week before Trump signed an executive order calling for the department's closure, following a campaign promise to conservatives aimed at leaving school policy almost entirely in the hands of states and local school boards. Trump later announced plans to transfer the department's student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration and its special education, nutrition, and related services to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In combination with 600 employees who took buyout offers, the Education Department said the job cuts once implemented would leave it with 2,183 workers, down from 4,133 when Trump took office on January 20. Affected employees were placed on administrative leave on March 21 and were told they would continue receiving full pay and benefits until June 9. The administration argued the cuts were a lawful effort to streamline the agency and cut bloat. But U.S. District Judge Myong Joun on May 22 concluded that the job cuts were in fact an effort by the administration to shut down the department without the necessary approval of Congress, which created the agency in 1979. He said the "massive reduction in staff has made it effectively impossible for the department to carry out its statutorily mandated functions." The Education Department on June 3 said it notified those employees about the judge's ruling in an effort to comply with it. The administration also appealed, saying that while Trump has made no secret of his desire to abolish the department, his administration understood that only Congress could do so and that the case ultimately concerned a personnel action.
Mint
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Trump administration says Harvard will receive no new grants until...
The US Education Department announced Monday that Harvard University will not receive new federal grants until it meets a series of demands from President Donald Trump's administration. In a press call, an Education Department official was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that Harvard will receive no new federal grants until it 'demonstrates responsible management of the university' and satisfies federal demands on a range of subjects. The ban applies to federal research grants and not to federal financial aid that helps students cover college tuition and fees, the report added. To become eligible for new grants, Harvard would now need to enter negotiations with the federal government and prove it has satisfied the administration's requirements. The administration previously froze $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard even as Trump pushes to strip the school of its tax-exempt status. The Trump administration demanded that Harvard make broad government and leadership changes, revise its admissions policy and audit its faculty and student body to ensure the campus is home to many points of view, AP reported. The demands are part of a pressure campaign targeting several other high-profile universities. The administration has cut off money to colleges including Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, seeking compliance with Trump's agenda. The White House said it's targeting campus antisemitism after pro-Palestinian protests swept US college campuses last year. The official accused Harvard of 'serious failures", saying that Harvard has allowed antisemitism and racial discrimination to perpetuate. It was alleged that Harvard abandoned rigorous academic standards, and it failed to allow a range of views on its campus. In a letter Monday to Harvard's president, Education Secretary Linda McMahon accused the school of enrolling foreign students who showed contempt for the US. 'Harvard University has made a mockery of this country's higher education system,' McMahon wrote. Harvard's president previously said he will not bend to the government's demands. The university sued last month to halt the government's funding freeze. A Harvard statement on Monday reiterated the university's refusal to acquiesce and said the government was retaliating for Harvard's lawsuit. 'Today, we received another letter from the administration doubling down on demands that would impose unprecedented and improper control over Harvard University and would have chilling implications for higher education,' Harvard said. The university said it will 'continue to defend against illegal government overreach aimed at stifling research and innovation that make Americans safer and more secure.' In a conversation with alumni last week, Harvard President Alan Garber acknowledged there was a 'kernel of truth' to criticism over antisemitism, freedom of speech and wide viewpoints at Harvard. But he said the conflict with the federal government has become a threat to the school's autonomy. 'We were faced with a recent demand from the federal government that, in the guise of combating antisemitism, raised new issues of control that frankly we did not anticipate, getting to the heart of governance," Garber said. 'We felt that we had to take a stand.' First Published: 6 May 2025, 08:22 AM IST
Al Jazeera
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Trump administration bars Harvard from future research grants
The administration of United States President Donald Trump has announced that Harvard University will no longer receive public funding for research in a sharp escalation of its dispute with the top university. In a letter to Harvard on Monday, US Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon said the elite university had made a 'mockery' of higher education and should no longer seek federal grants, 'since no will be provided'. 'Harvard will cease to be a publicly funded institution, and can instead operate as a privately-funded institution, drawing on its colossal endowment, and raising money from its large base of wealthy alumni,' McMahon wrote in the letter. The move comes after the Trump administration last month froze nearly $2.3bn in federal funding to Harvard over what it claimed was its failure to tackle rampant anti-Semitism on campus. The administration announced the freeze after Harvard rejected a series of demands that it said would subject the university to undue government control, including that it accede to external audits of faculty and students to ensure 'viewpoint diversity'. In her letter, McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, outlined a series of grievances often made by conservatives against the university, including that it had fostered lax academic standards and admitted foreign students who 'engage in violent behaviour and show contempt toward the United States of America'. 'Where do many of these 'students' come from, who are they, and how do they get into Harvard, or even into our country – and why is there so much HATE?' McMahon wrote in the letter, emulating Trump's use of all-capital letters to emphasise certain words. 'These are questions that must be answered, among many more, but the biggest question of all is, why will Harvard not give straightforward answers to the American public?' Harvard, which is fighting the Trump administration's earlier funding freeze in court, said in a statement that McMahon's latest demands would have 'chilling implications for higher education'. 'Today's letter makes new threats to illegally withhold funding for lifesaving research and innovation in retaliation against Harvard for filing its lawsuit on April 21,' a university spokesperson said. 'Harvard will continue to comply with the law, promote and encourage respect for viewpoint diversity, and combat antisemitism in our community. Harvard will also continue to defend against illegal government overreach aimed at stifling research and innovation that make Americans safer and more secure.' US universities have faced controversy over alleged anti-Semitism on their campuses since the eruption last year of nationwide student protests against Israel's war in Gaza. In two reports released last month, separate Harvard task forces said that students and staff had faced both anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim bias on campus. In response to the reports, Harvard President Alan Garber expressed concern that some students had been pushed 'to the periphery of campus life because of who they are or what they believe', and pledged to redouble efforts to ensure the university was a place where 'mutual respect is the norm'. Trump and prominent conservatives in the US have also long accused Harvard and other universities of propagating extreme left-wing views and stifling right-wing perspectives.
News18
02-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
'Cunning, Greedy': How Pakistan's History Textbooks Vilify Hindu Rulers, Glorify Muslims
Last Updated: A study by a scholar affiliated with Forman Christian College, Lahore, reveals Pakistan's textbooks consistently glorify Muslim invaders while marginalising Hindu rulers. 'Scheming, cunning, greedy" – that is how Pakistan's history books have described Hindu rulers while Muslim invaders have been called benevolent rulers. A study titled – Portrayal of Invaders and Conquerors of Indian Subcontinent: Analysis of History Textbooks Studied in Pakistani Schools – conducted by Ashar Johnson Khokhar, a scholar affiliated with Forman Christian College, Lahore, published on the US Education Department website reveals Pakistan's history textbooks consistently glorify Muslim invaders while marginalising or vilifying Hindu rulers and indigenous Indian history. 'The textbook writers unified the Muslim invaders and rulers of the Indian subcontinent with the rulers of Indus valley civilization, and they shared the same social, cultural, religious, political values," the study says, adding, 'The master narrative of Pakistan's history trivialized the Hindu rulers, and the people of the Indian subcontinent, Hindus, their religion, culture, and values." The research paper has analysed history and social studies textbooks from classes 6 to 8, published by three Pakistani state textbook boards — Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The study says that the curriculum promotes a master narrative linking Islamic identity to national pride, positioning Islam as a unifying force and India/Hinduism as cultural and historical adversaries. The study unifies the Indus Valley Civilisation and Muslim rulers as positive influences, while minimising the Aryan period and Hindu rule. 'The textbooks… presented Muslims and Islam as the true successor of Indus valley civilization and Buddhists rulers," the study says. It highlights how Pakistani textbooks described Aryans as 'once refugees in the land, hungry and looking for shelter and food, cruel, ungrateful, unsympathetic, no civic sense, always fighting and quarreling with each other." On the other hand, the books described Hindus as 'scheming, cunning, greedy, against Muslims and Islam, no contribution in Sciences, literature, art, united by religion." The study also points out how the textbook writers suggest that Hindus converted to Islam 'because of the generosity, kindness, tolerance and equality shown by Muslim invaders and rulers." The study warns that this one-sided version of history could lead to young people learning a made-up story instead of a more complete and inclusive one. To correct this, the author of the study advocates for a curriculum recognising minorities' contributions for a more balanced perspective. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published:
Arab News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Trump suggests US may not give more grants to Harvard University
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump suggested on Wednesday his government may stop giving grants to Harvard University, which has refused to concede to his demands regarding hiring, administration and speech regulation. 'And it looks like we are not going to be giving them any more grants, right Linda?' Trump said in remarks on Wednesday while referring to US Education Secretary Linda McMahon and without elaborating. 'A grant is at our discretion and they are really not behaving well. So it's too bad.' Harvard and the US Education Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's remarks. The Trump administration has targeted Harvard over antisemitism on campus during pro-Palestinian protests against US ally Israel's military assault on Gaza after the October 2023 attack on Israel by Palestinian Hamas militants. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has escalated its actions against Harvard. It began a formal review into nearly $9 billion in federal funding for Harvard, demanded the university ban diversity, equity and inclusion practices, and crack down on some pro-Palestinian groups and masks in protests. It has also urged Harvard to give more details on its foreign ties and threatened to remove its tax-exempt status and its ability to enroll foreign students. Harvard rejected numerous Trump demands earlier in April, calling them an attack on free speech and academic freedom. It sued the Trump administration after it suspended about $2.3 billion in federal funding for the educational institution, while also pledging to tackle discrimination on campus. The Trump administration has also threatened other educational institutions with federal funding cuts over issues like pro-Palestinian protests, DEI, climate initiatives and transgender rights. Protesting groups, including some Jewish ones, have said the administration conflates their criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza with antisemitism and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism. Harvard University released two reports on Tuesday that found many Jewish, Arab and Muslim students experienced bigotry at its Massachusetts campus during protests last year, with some fearing exclusion for airing political views. The Trump administration has thus far not initiated probes over Islamophobia or anti-Arab bias.
