These pieces add to our "Why we have and need a Department of Education" project, where we've been examining the role of ED in a time of heightened scrutiny and politicization of the department and federal role in education:
www.brookings.edu/collection/w...
I took a look at how higher ed has been shaped by funding cuts and uncertainty - "A coordinated retreat from college access: What TRIO and GEAR UP cuts reveal"
www.brookings.edu/articles/a-c...
Checking in on the Department of Education - a year(ish) into the second Trump administration and ahead of SOTU tomorrow, we looked back at what has happened to ED and what you might expect in the year ahead
www.brookings.edu/articles/faq...
In a new Brookings piece, I wrote about how the US Department of Education has turned civil rights enforcement into a tool to promote segregation and discrimination.
www.brookings.edu/articles/how...
FAQs: Checking in on the Department of Education via @brookings.edu
www.brookings.edu/articles/faq...
I always want to ask educators/researchers who promote these ideas... have you spent time with 5-7 yr olds recently??
the idea that early grade suspensions are an effective way to "control" the behavior of 5- 7 year olds is absurd.
children's brains are not wired to consider the potential threat of suspension before deciding whether to misbehave, undermining the idea of suspensions as an effective deterrent
I wrote about Yglesias “defending liberalism” by joining a right wing moral panic over critical race theory. His vision of liberalism has room for bigots, but no room for scholars concerned about structural racism.
screenshot that reads: Summers got his undergraduate degree in economics from MIT in 1975, where his Nobel-prize winning uncle Paul Samuelson was on faculty (Samuelson was awarded the prize in 1970). Summers got his graduate degree in economics from Harvard in 1982, where his other Nobel-prize winning uncle Ken Arrow was on faculty (Samuelson was awarded the prize in 1972 and left Harvard for Stanford before Larry finished his degree).
this overview by @kedseconomist.com of the Larry Summers of it all is very good.
I knew most of this but this tidbit floored me... Ken Arrows, as is in the Ken Arrows who developed what is arguably one of the most racist concepts in economics (statistical discrimination), is Summers' uncle?!!
New at Can We Still Govern: The IRS is a key agency and its decline is emblematic of Trump-era mismanagement.
@vanessawilliamson.bsky.social & Eliis Chen lay out the questions that Democrats should be asking its new leader.
Incredibly informative piece.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/five-quest...
New evidence on how ICE is affecting student learning
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1erU5Oe0vJYdVjuqQi4sfhUGxS0BGjWl8/view?usp=drivesdk
We are doing a pilot survey about how prospective PhD students in PSYCHOLOGY make decisions about applying to grad programs. If you are thinking of applying to a program in the future, and have 2-5 minutes to spare, could you take this survey? 🫶
northwestern.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
[GIFT LINK] Lots of folks are sharing this incisive commentary from @tressiemcphd.bsky.social on the Nazi tattoo candidate and the Democrats' insistence that we have to tolerate a smidge of racism to appeal to the working class.
She, of course takes, that apart.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...
For context, 87% of school-aged kids are enrolled in public schools in the US.*
(* a statistic we only know because of work the US Dept of ED used to do to collect vital data on our nation's schools)
Those influencing Trump education policy aren't shy about wanting to eradicate public schools.
Asked what % of kids she imagines should be in public schools, Tiffany Justice -- Moms for Liberty cofounder, now with Heritage Foundation -- told @propublica.org
“I hope zero. I hope to get to zero.”
Becky Pepper-Jackson is the only transgender girl in school sports in the entire state of West Virginia.
Soon, she'll be at the Supreme Court defending the freedom of all trans kids to be themselves on and off the playing field.
More evidence that the wealthiest communities accrue the most benefits from universal private school choice programs.
www.brookings.edu/articles/uni...
the most important thing to remember when you see eugenicists who don’t believe that autistic people should exist rambling about “the autism epidemic” is not that they’re wrong about the “cause” (although they are absolutely wrong about it); it’s that they are eugenicists
Vanessa Williamson, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and at the Tax Policy Center, is leading a research project conducting confidential interviews with recent IRS civil servants. The purpose is to create a historical record of first-hand accounts of changes occurring at the Internal Revenue Service in 2025-2026, to gather insights into what impacts to expect from these changes in the next tax season and in years to come, and to preserve the institutional memory that will support federal tax administration in the future. Recent IRS civil servants at all levels and in all areas of work are encouraged to participate. If you are interested in participating in an interview or would like to learn more about the project, please contact Vanessa Williamson. (Email: vwilliamson@brookings.edu; Signal: VanessaWilliamson.50)
Are you a recent IRS civil servant? I would like to interview you!
Details below, including my contact info -- or reach out via Bsky!
i have said this before but when “getting rid of race in admissions” for the administration means “you can’t even try to reach out to underrepresented communities and encourage them to apply and if you do it is illegal discrimination against white people” then the actual goal here is segregation
thanks for sharing!
This is a great resource! @rachelmarisa.bsky.social @brookings.edu
“awful people don’t deserve to be killed, but they don’t deserve to be praised, either” is apparently a thought too complex for the pundit mind
We're also holding a public webinar this Mon 9/15 @ 4 PM EST to discuss the status of the Trump admin's K-12 agenda with education scholars & civil rights attorneys.
Register using the link below. (A recording will be made available shortly after.)
www.brookings.edu/events/what-...
To accompany the lawsuit tracker, we summarize the status of legal challenges to the Trump admin's most consequential executive actions on K-12 ed in a new Brookings' policy brief co-authored w/ Thalia González & Aidan Thomas (UC Law SF).
www.brookings.edu/articles/the...
🚨Our new @brookings.edu data tool tracking ongoing litigation against the Trump admin's K-12 education agenda is now live!
The tracker, to be updated monthly, provides up-to-date info on the status of lawsuits challenging Trump's K-12 related executive actions.
www.brookings.edu/articles/tra...
This looks really interesting! Also check out the lawsuit tracker -
Lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s K-12 education agenda www.brookings.edu/articles/tra...
please help us spread the word about this mentorship opportunity for writers of color & share it with anyone you think might be interested!
Join us for an online @brookings.edu event Mon 9/15 @ 4PM, ET to discuss the state of the Trump administration's K-12 education agenda with education & legal scholars & civil rights attorneys.
Submit questions in advance via email or the registration form!
www.brookings.edu/events/what-...
