There was a funeral at the White House on Thursday. 

Well, kind of.

In an executive order, President Donald Trump demanded the 45-year-old Education Department be scaled back to its “critical functions,” a move that fell short of his years-long campaign promise to eliminate the federal agency outright. Such a move, the White House press secretary acknowledged Thursday, would require buy-in from Congress — far more than the stroke of the president’s pen.

Still, as my colleague Linda Jacobson writes, Trump’s order has opened questions about how the agency will continue to carry out some of its primary functions, including the enforcement of federal civil rights laws that protect students against discrimination and ensure equal opportunities to learn. 

In the news

A proposed Texas bill would ban “furry subculture” in public schools, prohibiting kids from acting like animals, including “barking, meowing, hissing or other animal noises that are not human speech.” | Newsweek

• Reality check: The legislation, which also imposes a ban on litter boxes in schools, is based on a demeaning hoax. Period. | Education Week

Also in Texas, new legislation seeks to overturn recent discipline reforms that limit suspensions for students pre-K through second grade and for children experiencing homelessness. | The Texas Tribune

‘Severe sexual abuse’: The Justice Department will no longer pursue a civil rights lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs, a nonprofit that operated prison-like shelters for unaccompanied migrant children and whose employees faced sexual abuse allegations. | Reuters

• The Trump administration said it would no longer send migrant children to Southwest Key facilities and accused the Biden administration of enabling the alleged abuse, while the nonprofit said it was pleased that “there is no settlement or payment required.” | The New York Times

• The National Center for Youth Law, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, has sought to intervene in the case. The group said in a media release it is “outraged” by the Justice Department’s decision to drop the case and that the “allegations of severe sexual abuse, including the rape of children, demand immediate and decisive action.” | National Center for Youth Law

Mark your calendars: The American Federation of Teachers will team up with the parent group Stop Sexual Assault in Schools for a webinar March 25 titled “Addressing the Rise and Impact of Misogyny Among Students in Grades 6-12.” | Register here

An Idaho teacher is in a standoff with her school district — at the risk of losing her job — because she refused to remove a sign that reads “Everyone is welcome here.” | The 74

A Florida judge has scheduled a June trial date for former Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie, who was indicted on a single perjury charge, accused of lying to a statewide grand jury convened to investigate school safety operations after the 2018 Parkland school shooting. | South Florida Sun Sentinel

ICE chilling student speech: A Georgetown University graduate student in the U.S. on a student visa was detained by immigration enforcement officials and faces deportation on allegations of having “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist.” His wife is Palestinian-American, and his father-in-law was once an adviser to a Hamas leader who was assassinated by Israeli forces last year. A Homeland Security spokesperson accused the student of “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media.” His lawyer denied the allegations. | BBC

• A Columbia University student arrested and threatened with deportation for his role in pro-Palestine campus protests says his detention is indicative of “anti-Palestinian racism.” | The Associated Press
• More on the immigration front: A 10-year-old girl — and U.S. citizen — recovering from brain cancer was removed from the country along with her undocumented parents, who were deported to Mexico. | NBC News

School gun violence has long been a topic of heated debate, especially as mass shootings surge. How might Education Secretary Linda McMahon approach the subject? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ | The 19th

More than two decades after the Columbine school shooting in Colorado, the tragedy has claimed its 14th victim. | The New York Times

Kept in the dark

Meet the hired guns: My recent in-depth investigation exposed how schools routinely provide false assurances to students, parents and teachers about the harms of cyberattacks and hire specialized attorneys to keep key information out of public view. | The 74

Education behemoth PowerSchool, which suffered a colossal data breach late last year, faces a new lawsuit alleging it misled schools nationwide about its security. | The 74

Chicago Public Schools is among the most recent K-12 cyberattack targets, with hackers stealing the sensitive files of some 700,000 current and former students. | Chalkbeat

As Politico reported this week, recent Trump administration cuts could hinder schools’ efforts to defend against cyber threats. | Politico

On the chopping block is an advisory committee that convened industry experts on combating threats. Among those canned from the committee is school cyber guru Doug Levin, who received a letter saying he had been relieved of his unpaid duties as part of a broader effort to eliminate “the misuse of resources” and refocus government efforts “on advancing our critical mission to protect the homeland.”

Hey, that sounds familiar. Members of a federal committee created to combat school shootings got the same letter. | The 74

ICYMI @The74

Emotional Support

This week, it’s 74 Editor in Chief Nicole Ridgway’s pup Mika, who is recovering but could use a little emotional support as she bravely weathers the cone of shame. Everybody say, “Awwwww, poor Mika.” 

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