Himanshi Khanna

[ad_1] FILE - Children and their guardians leave P.S. 64 in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File) In a striking act of resistance, New York state officials have refused to yield to the Trump administration’s latest attempt to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in public education. The state’s Department of Education, in a sharply worded letter, made clear that it would not adhere to federal demands to end DEI practices as a condition for continued funding.Daniel Morton-Bentley, counsel and deputy commissioner of the New York State Education Department, directly challenged the federal directive, stating that the department “does not believe the federal agency has authority to make such demands.” His April 4 letter to the U.S. Department of Education sets the stage for a significant legal and […]

[ad_1] FILE - People remove belongings on campus at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., March 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File) Alarms are ringing across American universities as federal authorities escalate a quiet but forceful campaign against international students. Legal residency statuses are being revoked without notice, visa permissions are being stripped away abruptly, and university officials are left scrambling for answers. For students who once viewed the United States as a sanctuary of learning and opportunity, the climate is shifting fast—and ominously.The trend, which appears to have intensified in recent weeks, is disrupting lives, upending careers, and sowing distrust within the international academic community. Behind the scenes, federal enforcement is no longer a collaborative process with colleges but a silent, unilateral operation.Visa revocations with no warningUniversities have reported cases where students, many with clean records […]

[ad_1] A decisive moment for American public education unfolded this week as the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for President Donald Trump to slash $600 million in teacher training grants—funds that have long supported efforts to address chronic teacher shortages and build a more inclusive, diverse educational workforce. In a narrow 5–4 decision, the Court sided with Trump’s administration, temporarily halting a lower court’s order to reinstate the grants in eight Democratic-led states. The ruling sends a chilling signal across the nation’s education system: Long-standing federal commitments to equity and teacher development are now vulnerable to ideological shifts at the highest levels of government.This legal battle is far more than a procedural dispute—it represents a broader, strategic assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in schools and colleges. Under the banner of combating “divisive ideologies,” Trump’s Department of Education […]