The Department of Education announced yet another round of funding cuts Monday as part of the Trump administration’s attempt to ax what it calls “divisive ideologies” in public education.
In this round, the department canceled more than $600 million in grants for training teachers and education agencies that touched on several topics, including “critical race theory, diversity, equity, and inclusion, social justice activism, ‘anti-racism,’ and instruction on white privilege and white supremacy,” according to a news release.
“Many of these grants included teacher and staff recruiting strategies implicitly and explicitly based on race,” the release stated, though the specific grants weren’t listed. Trump administration officials described the grant-funded training programs as “inappropriate and unnecessary.”
Monday’s announcement adds to the growing list of federally funded education programs that have been canceled since the president took office. First, the Trump administration canceled nearly $900 million in Institute of Education Sciences contracts on Feb. 12—dealing a massive blow to the National Center for Education Statistics, which funds the provision of public data on postsecondary institutions and research on how to improve them.
Then, on Feb. 14, the department announced it would cancel 10 contracts with Regional Educational Laboratories—groups that work with educators and policymakers to improve student outcomes—and Equity Assistance Centers, which provide training assistance to help desegregate public schools. Those cuts totaled $369 million.
The department didn’t offer many details what was included in this $600 million cut, aside from noting in the release that the grants were “awarded to teacher preparation programs that train future classroom teachers.”
According to the department, the affected grants involved “acknowledging systemic forms of oppression and inequity” as well as professional development workshops and equity training about cultural competency and equity in the classroom, among other examples.
