Latest news with #WeadéJames
The Hill
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump funding cuts to PBS set to hit free educational content for kids
Looming federal funding cuts for PBS put in jeopardy some of the most-used educational videos and games shown to help children improve in literacy and other social skills. The cuts, part of a $9 billion rescissions package Republicans are poised to pass as soon as Wednesday afternoon, pose a serious threat to PBS's bottom line. Last month, multiple projects for kids' education got stalled or canceled after a single grant to public television was taken away. 'The harm that eliminating PBS will cause in communities where children live … public radio and public TV stations provide free, credible news and not just that, but also, educational programming and content. Programs like 'Sesame Street' — that is a staple of many American childhoods and households — were birthed from those stations,' said Weadé James, senior director for K-12 Policy at the Center for American Progress. 'So I think it's concerning that we have — there's a possibility of educational programs being stripped from rural towns and remote areas where public television is really the only source of academically enriching content that many children receive,' she added. The Trump administration is looking to claw back more than $1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provides some funding to PBS and NPR. The rescissions package, which as of this writing was under debate in the Senate, appeared set for passage after a deal was made to save the international President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. The CPB cuts, by contrast, are clearly a priority for President Trump, who accuses its publicly-funded organizations of having a liberal bias. 'It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together,' Trump said on social media last week, using a derogatory nickname for MSNBC. 'Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement,' he added. Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation director at PEN America, said, 'Certain proposed cuts are really part of this broader effort by the administration to punish dissent, to tighten control over what information Americans can access. I think it's an attempt to silence media outlets that don't align with the president's preferred narrative.' Under PBS LearningMedia, teachers have access to educational videos, lesson plans and interactive activities for kids. It also provides newsletters for educators that keep them up to date on current events and recent research. PBS Kids also offers free, self-paced lessons for students and teachers, along with educational games for students in K-2. It has offered such content for children for more than 50 years and is available in 98 percent of U.S. households. PBS Kids says videos on its website average 13 million viewers, while its YouTube channel gets 34 million viewers per month. On average, 41 million games are played on its site each month. 'Families are tired of their tax dollars going towards woke indoctrination from PBS like 'LGBTQ youth resources,' a map detailing 'Gender-Diverse' cultures produced by an 'Indigiqueer transfemme,' children's programming featuring drag queens, and a guide teaching children about their 'White privilege,' just to name a few examples,' a spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget said on Wednesday. 'This outrageous indoctrination of American children has continued for far too long, and President Trump's rescissions package will finally put an end to the taxpayer-funded gravy train,' they added. It isn't the first hit PBS will take under the Trump administration, after the Education Department in May canceled $23 million from the Ready to Learn Grant. The department said the grants were canceled due to the recent programs focusing on 'racial justice.' That prior cancelation came as a shock to PBS as the grant had long been tailored to an administration's priorities. 'During the George W. Bush administration, it was No Child Left Behind, and we were really focused on literacy. And through the Obama years, we were very focused on science, STEM and data analysis. And the grant that was terminated in May was actually a solicitation from the first Trump administration, and it was focused on workforce readiness for preschoolers,' said Sara DeWitt, senior vice president and general manager of PBS Kids. Multiple studies have been found success in certain learning aspects among young children who watched PBS programming. A 2021 analysis found those who watched 'Molly of Denali' had better problem-solving skills. DeWitt said that before funding was pulled for a study that was near completion, it 'looked like we were getting good, positive gains, learning gains from the content.' PBS says it would be difficult to find alternative funding sources, emphasizing that charging for content would endanger the model PBS currently uses to create its programs. 'We will be able to do much less of what we're able to do. There's no way to replace that federal funding,' DeWitt said, adding the media landscape for kids is 'really driven by algorithms or driven by revenue potential' by keeping a child 'watching as long as possible, that is considered successful.' 'What we view as success is how well this content is helping a child learn, how well it's preparing them for school, how well it's preparing them to be in their community and to interact with other kids, and I think that will really be lost because there aren't commercial incentives for this kind of content,' she added. Parents may have to look for other options for free educational content, including recommendations from librarians and teachers, but alternatives are also on the fritz amid Trump's government-wide funding cuts. The federal government currently is facing a lawsuit from states after it paused $6 billion in funding for after-school and summer activities, putting these programs at risk of downsizing or closing altogether. 'School districts are having to scramble: can't get their after-school programs started, can't do the training that they need for the teachers that are going to learn science of reading this summer,' said Lisa Guernsey, senior director of Birth to 12th Grade Policy at New America and co-founder and director of the Learning Sciences Exchange. 'There are also these cuts to PBS, also potentially losing access to these community-based learning neighborhood programs. This is going to put school districts and communities in an even tighter spot.'
The Independent
20-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
The Education Department was created to ensure equal access. Who would do that in its absence?
As the Trump administration moves to dismantle the Education Department, officials have suggested other agencies could take over its major responsibilities: civil rights enforcement to the Justice Department, perhaps; student loans to Treasury or Commerce; oversight of student disability rights to Health and Human Services. Less clear is what could happen with a more lofty part of its mission — promoting equal access for students in an American education system that is fundamentally unequal. Trump on Thursday signed an executive order calling for a plan to eliminate the department. In recent weeks, his administration already had been overhauling the department, cutting the workforce in half at an agency he has called wasteful and infiltrated by leftists. Without the department, advocates worry the federal government would not look out in the same way for poor students, those still learning English, disabled students and racial and ethnic minorities. 'Gutting the agency that is charged to ensure equal access to education for every child is only going to create an underclass of students,' said Weadé James, senior director of K-12 education policy for the Center for American Progress, a think tank that advocates for racial equity policies and increased investment in public schools. The equity goal of the Education Department, which was created by Congress in 1979, emerged partly from the anti-poverty and civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s. The act creating the department described its mission, in part, as: 'To strengthen the Federal commitment to ensuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual.' If new Education Secretary Linda McMahon really does work herself 'out of a job,' as Trump has said he wants, the government will lose a bully pulpit to draw attention to the nation's challenges and evangelize solutions, said Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education think tank that advocates for more rigorous academic standards and accountability for public schools. But Petrilli doubts that significantly paring back the department — if not completely eliminating it — will be 'noticeable in the real world.' Test scores continue to show many school children are struggling academically. The latest national tests showed one-third of eighth grade students missing fundamental skills in reading, and a widening gap between the highest-performing and lower-performing students. That's the justification McMahon and other Trump allies have used for dismantling the department and sending its funding directly to states to spend. Far from perfect, the department has offered a valuable 'north star' for schools, said Wil Del Pilar, senior vice president of EdTrust, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that advocates for educational equity. It is the role of the department to institute guardrails, investments and protections 'that support equal outcomes for students,' he said. Trump has said he wants to return all control of schools to states. The biggest question for many is what happens to the billions of dollars sent to run public schools every year, such as Title I funding, which supports schools in communities with high concentrations of poverty. Educating low-income children, students learning English and those with disabilities often costs more because it requires specialized teaching or smaller class sizes. Districts without a strong tax base to fund schools often struggle to meet these students' needs, which Congress recognized by authorizing the money. McMahon has said she wants to send the money directly to states, with fewer restrictions. Some have worried that without guardrails or federal oversight, states will use the money to advance their own priorities in ways that potentially entrench inequality. If the funding is distributed to states as block grants, it's potentially a 'way to defund public education,' said Del Pilar. Block grants allow politicians to 'direct funds as they see fit, and that could be away from schools,' he said. Students in Mississippi, South Dakota, Arkansas, Montana and Alaska could be affected the most if rules or oversight changes for how states spend this money. During the 2021-2022 school year, these states relied on federal aid for at least 20% of school funding, according to government data. The agency traditionally has worked on behalf of disadvantaged students through its Office for Civil Rights, with an emphasis defending the rights of students with disabilities and students facing harassment tied to their skin color. Under the Trump administration, the agency has prioritized allegations of antisemitism. While some advocates worry about the pivot in priorities, some attorneys say they had given up on recommending parents pursue complaints with the Office for Civil Rights, which they perceived as understaffed and too slow to provide relief. Well before Trump was sworn in for a second term, the system moved slowly, but it has now gotten even worse, said A. Kelly Neal, a special education attorney in Macon, Georgia. 'Usually they were a little bit more responsive,' Neal said. 'It may not have been the response you wanted. But at least they tried to pretend they were doing something.' She said she would have no problem if the Department of Justice took on enforcement of these cases. As part of a crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the Trump administration last month ended the contract for the Equity Assistance Center-South, a technical assistance program for Southern school districts still operating under federal desegregation orders. Last week, the Southern Education Foundation appealed the decision to cancel its contract to run the center. The attempt to close these such centers abdicates the government's responsibility to 'help school districts address educational inequities and provide greater education opportunities for our students,' said Raymond Pierce, Southern Education Foundation's president and chief executive officer. ___ Associated Press writers Heather Hollingsworth and Chris Megerian contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Chicago Tribune
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
The Education Department was created to ensure equal access. Who would do that in its absence?
As the Trump administration moves to dismantle the Education Department, officials have suggested other agencies could take over its major responsibilities: civil rights enforcement to the Justice Department, perhaps; student loans to Treasury or Commerce; oversight of student disability rights to Health and Human Services. Less clear is what could happen with a more lofty part of its mission — promoting equal access for students in an American education system that is fundamentally unequal. Trump on Thursday plans to sign an order calling for the shutdown of the department, according to a White House official. In recent weeks, his administration already has been overhauling the department, cutting the workforce in half at an agency he has called wasteful and infiltrated by leftists. Without the department, advocates worry the federal government would not look out in the same way for poor students, those still learning English, disabled students and racial and ethnic minorities. 'Gutting the agency that is charged to ensure equal access to education for every child is only going to create an underclass of students,' said Weadé James, senior director of K-12 education policy for the Center for American Progress, a think tank that advocates for racial equity policies and increased investment in public schools. The equity goal of the Education Department, which was created by Congress in 1979, emerged partly from the anti-poverty and civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s. The act creating the department described its mission, in part, as: 'To strengthen the Federal commitment to ensuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual.' If new Education Secretary Linda McMahon really does work herself 'out of a job,' as Trump has said he wants, the government will lose a bully pulpit to draw attention to the nation's challenges and evangelize solutions, said Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education think tank that advocates for more rigorous academic standards and accountability for public schools. But Petrilli doubts that significantly paring back the department — if not completely eliminating it — will be 'noticeable in the real world.' Test scores continue to show many school children are struggling academically. The latest national tests showed one-third of eighth grade students missing fundamental skills in reading, and a widening gap between the highest-performing and lower-performing students. That's the justification McMahon and other Trump allies have used for dismantling the department and sending its funding directly to states to spend. Far from perfect, the department has offered a valuable 'north star' for schools, said Wil Del Pilar, senior vice president of EdTrust, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that advocates for educational equity. It is the role of the department to institute guardrails, investments and protections 'that support equal outcomes for students,' he said. Trump has said he wants to return all control of schools to states. The biggest question for many is what happens to the billions of dollars sent to run public schools every year, such as Title I funding, which supports schools in communities with high concentrations of poverty. Educating low-income children, students learning English and those with disabilities often costs more because it requires specialized teaching or smaller class sizes. Districts without a strong tax base to fund schools often struggle to meet these students' needs, which Congress recognized by authorizing the money. McMahon has said she wants to send the money directly to states, with fewer restrictions. Some have worried that without guardrails or federal oversight, states will use the money to advance their own priorities in ways that potentially entrench inequality. If the funding is distributed to states as block grants, it's potentially a 'way to defund public education,' said Del Pilar. Block grants allow politicians to 'direct funds as they see fit, and that could be away from schools,' he said. Students in Mississippi, South Dakota, Arkansas, Montana and Alaska could be affected the most if rules or oversight changes for how states spend this money. During the 2021-2022 school year, these states relied on federal aid for at least 20% of school funding, according to government data. The agency traditionally has worked on behalf of disadvantaged students through its Office for Civil Rights, with an emphasis defending the rights of students with disabilities and students facing harassment tied to their skin color. Under the Trump administration, the agency has prioritized allegations of antisemitism. While some advocates worry about the pivot in priorities, some attorneys say they had given up on recommending parents pursue complaints with the Office for Civil Rights, which they perceived as understaffed and too slow to provide relief. Well before Trump was sworn in for a second term, the system moved slowly, but it has now gotten even worse, said A. Kelly Neal, a special education attorney in Macon, Georgia. 'Usually they were a little bit more responsive,' Neal said. 'It may not have been the response you wanted. But at least they tried to pretend they were doing something.' She said she would have no problem if the Department of Justice took on enforcement of these cases. As part of a crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the Trump administration last month ended the contract for the Equity Assistance Center-South, a technical assistance program for Southern school districts still operating under federal desegregation orders. Last week, the Southern Education Foundation appealed the decision to cancel its contract to run the center. The attempt to close these such centers abdicates the government's responsibility to 'help school districts address educational inequities and provide greater education opportunities for our students,' said Raymond Pierce, Southern Education Foundation's president and chief executive officer.
