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#departmentofeducation

7 posts7 participants1 post today

#BostonMA protest calls for end of war in #Gaza, release of activist #MahmoudKhalil

Nationwide demonstrations were scheduled this weekend to protest the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil

By Thea DiGiammerino, March 16, 2025

"Hundreds calling for the end of the war in Gaza rallied in the streets of Boston Sunday, one of many demonstrations across the country protesting not only the violence but also recent action by the Trump administration toward a man who was arrested by immigration officials after speaking out about the issue.

"Chanting '#FreePalestine,' and other mottos calling for the end of the war, the crowd gathered in Copley Square then marched to the Mass. Ave Bridge, where they blocked traffic for around 10 minutes before moving off the streets.

"Massachusetts State Police said they monitored the event and no arrests were made."

[...]

"'When the Trump administration detained multiple people from the #PalestineMovement we could have seen our communities react in fear, we could have seen hundreds of Bostonians staying home today. And that’s not what we’re seeing because we know people will stand up against this #bullying,' one attendee told NBC10 Boston.

"Tensions over the situation in the Middle East and the #Trump administration's policies concerning the war remain high. Last week, the #DepartmentOfEducation issued a warning to 60 colleges and universities that they were under investigation for allegations of antisemitism. The Department of Justice also announced the creation of a federal task force to investigate the issue, and said Boston would be one of the cities targeted in the work."

nbcboston.com/news/local/hundr
#USPol #FreeMahmoudKhalil #FreeSpeech #ResistFascism #ResistDOGE #ResistICE

NBC10 Boston · Boston protest calls for end of war in Gaza, release of activist Mahmoud KhalilBy Thea DiGiammerino

More Department of Education attacks on higher education. My question, is it about DEI or intellectual activity. I’ve been trying to think about anti-intellectual history in US and the primary sources which come to mind are Lost Cause propaganda and confidence schemes. No doubt these feed the likes of J.D. Vance, Russell Vought, Stephen Miller and their racist nurseries, but there are con men [sic] in both parties.
#DepartmentofEducation #DEI #AntiIntellectualism
apnews.com/article/trump-dei-u

In joint guidance led by Leticia James, a coalition of 14 attorneys general said neither an executive order nor a memo from the U.S. Education Department — as a “Dear Colleague” letter — threatening schools with #DEI policies could make or change the law #CivilRights
“The administration cannot ban diversity, equity, inclusion & accessibility efforts with a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter,” James said in a statement
#DepartmentofEducation #MSGAracism nydailynews.com/2025/03/05/ny- #FuckTrumpFascistRegime

Restructuring debt into another department/category would make #millenials, largely against Trump, into indentured servants.

The #departmentofeducation treats #studentloans ($1.64 trillion outstanding) as not 'exactly' assets to the debtor (US govt). This would remove flexibilty, and weaponize the debt, (further) crushing a generation.

To provide a billionaire tax cut AND keep a boot on millenials' necks.

#uspol

cnn.com/2025/03/07/politics/st

washingtonpost.com/education/2

CNN · Dismantling of Education Department puts future of trillions of dollars in student loans in questionBy Kayla Tausche

Support for #highered in light of Trump's attempted #DEI ban: A letter jointly from the AGs of #Illinois, #Massachussetts, and #NewYork providing guidance for responding to Trump's "dear colleague" letter.

About half the letter is reproduced below.

[the Dear Colleague letter and accompanying documents] misconstrue Supreme Court precedent, wrongly imply that it might be unlawful for schools to consider the impact of policies and practices on diversity, and create a misimpression of the impact of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programming and its legality. To be clear, nothing in the “Dear Colleague” letter or FAQ changes existing law and well-established legal principles that encourage—and even require—schools to promote educational opportunity for students of all backgrounds. The President cannot change longstanding legal precedent by executive order, and a Dear Colleague letter and FAQ document certainly cannot do so. The “Dear Colleague” letter has inspired fear, and the Attorneys General write to mitigate that fear.

...

[RE: legal experts' rebuttal to the Dear Colleague letter]: the professors explain the fundamental legality of common diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices, and urge university leaders to “respond confidently, with both law and moral principle on your side, and not to sacrifice essential and legally defensible DEI initiatives that help universities fulfill their most basic mission to pursue truth and knowledge for the common good.” Our offices share in the professors’ call.

...

The February 14 Dear Colleague Letter mischaracterizes DEI programs... [which] provide all students an equal opportunity to learn and better prepare students to work in our diverse country and participate in our multiracial democracy. They are essential to promoting fair treatment and eliminating stigmatization. The SFFA decision has no bearing on these lawful DEI programs, and the February 14 Dear Colleague letter cannot and does not prohibit them.

...

The attached guidance on SFFA, first issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2023 and updated in light of the DOE’s recent communication, provides additional information on legally compliant ways that educational institutions can continue to meaningfully and successfully achieve the worthy goals of diverse and equitable student bodies consistent with state law, Title VI, and the U.S. Constitution.

At the same time, the Attorneys General remind all educational institutions that they must themselves abide by the nation’s civil rights laws, whatever changes they may make to their programming and policies. Fear of the “Dear Colleague” letter or the loss of federal funding is not a justification to impose or reimpose discriminatory practices. The Attorneys General stand ready to enforce their States’ robust civil rights protections—which in many cases exceed federal civil rights protections—wherever discrimination may be found.

#DepartmentOfEducation
They're doing exactly what they said they would do and the popular consensus said they wouldn't really do. Be afraid now.

Trump prepares order dismantling the Education Department

"The draft executive action, obtained by NPR, acknowledges that the department and its signature responsibilities were created by Congress and cannot legally be altered without congressional approval."
laist.com/news/education/trump

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon leaves the House chamber after President Trump addresses to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
LAist · Trump prepares order dismantling the Education DepartmentBy NPR

Trump will try to abolish the Department of Education by executive order as early as today, but he’ll need Congress to pass a bill (H.R. 899) to formally eliminate it. My Democratic reps are certain to vote against this, but if you have Republican reps, please give them a call. They need to feel the full fury of every constituent who opposes this.
#uspol #departmentofeducation

5calls.org/issue/education-dep

5 CallsProtect the Department of Education ⭑ 5 CallsThe Trump administration is working to fulfill a campaign promise to abolish the Department of Education. Details are being finalized for an executive …

#Eugenics anyone?!! So much for so-called #AmericanExceptionalism! smh

'We're not prepared': States brace for #Trump's plans to dismantle the Education Department [#DepartmentOfEducation]

Trump has said he wants to leave school policy to the states, but state officials and lawmakers aren’t clear on what that would look like.

February 27, 2025, By Adam Edelman and Tyler Kingkade

Excerpt: "The largest questions revolve around who would pick up many of the agency’s most crucial responsibilities — among them, the disbursement and oversight of funding for schools with extra needs, including schools with large populations of impoverished students or schools with children with disabilities."

nbcnews.com/politics/trump-adm
#USPol #KillThePoor #Genocide #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism

NBC News · 'We're not prepared': States brace for Trump's plans to dismantle the Education Department By Adam Edelman