Education

A commuter walks past the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Eduction, which were ordered closed for the day for what officials described as security reasons amid large-scale layoffs, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Federal student loan site down Wednesday, a day after layoffs gutted Education Department

An hours-long outage on StudentAid.gov, the federal website for student loans and financial aid, has underscored the risks in rapidly gutting the Department of Education.

Seventh graders sit together in the cafeteria during their lunch break at a public school, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

USDA ends program that helped schools serve food from local farmers

The headquarters of the U.S. Department of Eduction, which were ordered closed for the day for what officials described as security reasons amid large-scale layoffs, are seen Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Education Department layoffs gut its civil rights office, leaving discrimination cases in limbo

Zoe Reiland, 17, sits with her cat, Cracker, and talks about she and her younger brother being monitored at their previous schools, in Oklahoma, by surveillance technology, Monday, March 10, 2025, in Clinton, Miss.(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Takeaways from our investigation on AI-powered school surveillance

(Illustration by Gabriel Campanario/The Seattle Times)

Schools use AI to monitor kids, hoping to prevent violence. Our investigation found security risks

These kids never returned to school after the pandemic – because of paperwork and a broken phone

Thousands of kids went missing from schools during the pandemic. For some who have tried to return, school paperwork has proved a daunting obstacle.

Maintenance hole explosion at Texas Tech University causes fires, outages and cancels classes

Authorities at Texas Tech University say an explosion inside a maintenance hole set off fires and power outages on the campus, leading school officials to issue evacuation orders for several buildings and cancel classes for the rest of the week.

Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, arrives for a hearing of the Health, Education, and Labor Committee on her nomination, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The Education Department was created to ensure equal access. Who would do that in its absence?

As the Trump administration moves to dismantle the Education Department, officials have suggested other agencies could take over its major responsibilities.

Members of the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group, including Sueda Polat, second from left, and Mahmoud Khalil, center, are surrounded by members of the media outside the Columbia University campus, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

How Mahmoud Khalil became the face of Trump’s crackdown on campus protests

When protests over the Israel-Hamas war took root on Columbia University’s campus last spring, Mahmoud Khalil became a familiar, outspoken figure in a student movement that soon spread to other U.S. colleges.

The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Education Department cuts half its staff as Trump vows to wind the agency down

The Education Department plans to lay off more than 1,300 of its employees as part of an effort to halve the organization’s staff -- a prelude to President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.

This photo provided by the National Institutes of Health shows the James H. Shannon Building on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md., in 2015. (Lydia Polimeni/NIH via AP)

Researchers are learning the Trump administration axed their work to improve vaccination

The Trump administration is canceling studies about ways to improve vaccine trust and access. The move comes in the midst of a large measles outbreak fueled by unvaccinated children.

House Appropriations Chairman Matt Hatchett speaks about the State's 2026 budget at the Georgia State Capitol on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 in Atlanta. (Natrice Miller/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Georgia budget proposes spending more on poor students for the first time

Georgia could be about to allocate more money to educate poor public school students for the first time.

President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks on South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

US judge temporarily halts Trump plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training

A federal judge in Boston has blocked the Trump administration’s plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training, finding cuts are already affecting training programs aimed at addressing a nationwide teacher shortage.

Columbia basketball coach Jim Engles stepping down after 8th straight losing season

Columbia men’s basketball coach Jim Engles is stepping down. The athletic department announced the move Monday after the Lions finished 1-13 in Ivy League play this season.

President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks on South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

An office known for enforcing special education is now focused on Trump’s political priorities

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights is best known for enforcing disability rights across America’s schools, but under President Donald Trump it’s being reshaped into a frontline figure in the president’s political battles.

Protesters gather for a demonstration in support of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, Monday, March 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Trump warns that arrest of Palestinian activist at Columbia will be ‘first of many’

President Donald Trump is warning that the arrest and possible deportation of a Palestinian activist who helped lead protests at Columbia University will be the first “of many to come” as his administration cracks down on protests against the war in Gaza.

Military personnel search for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, March. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Francesco Spotorno)

Father of missing US student Sudiksha Konanki asks for wider investigation in Dominican Republic

The father of a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student from Virginia who went missing in the Dominican Republic while on spring break says he’s asking authorities to widen their investigation.

Atlanta teacher’s body found a month after he disappeared on a Georgia lake, sheriff says

A sheriff says the body of an Atlanta teacher and coach who vanished last month on Georgia’s Lake Oconee while boating with his fiancee has been found.

In this March 9, 2009 file photo, The Harry S. Truman Building, headquarters for the State Department, is seen in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Scholars stranded in America and abroad amid funding freeze of State Department programs

The U.S. State Department has frozen funding indefinitely for thousands of scholars participating in long-established cross-cultural programs connecting the U.S. to other parts of the world.

Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is on the Columbia University campus in New York at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, file)

Immigration agents arrest Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests

A prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead last spring’s protests at Columbia University has been arrested by federal immigration agents.

Ivy League-leader Yale defeats Brown 70-61

Led by John Poulakidas’ 27 points, the Yale Bulldogs defeated the Brown Bears 70-61. The Bulldogs improved to 20-7 with the win and the Bears fell to 14-13.

Duke University pharmacology and cancer biology professor Donald McDonnell talks during a tour, Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Durham, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

A look inside the ‘damage control’ at one of top US medical schools amid NIH cuts

Facing the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding, Duke University is preparing for the worst.

I'm Worth Defending officer Amelia Awuor, left, demonstrates self-defense techniques at Enkakenya Centre for Excellence in Narok County, Kenya, on Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nicholas Komu)

Maasai girls take up self-defense as protection from sexual abuse and early marriage

Maasai girls are taking up martial arts to protect themselves from sexual abuse and violence stemming from early marriage.

Ryan Walters, Republican candidate for Oklahoma State Superintendent, speaks at a rally, Nov. 1, 2022, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

Oklahoma schools chief seeks donations to put Bibles in classrooms

Oklahoma’s top public schools official is continuing his quest to put a Bible in classrooms. Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced this week he’s teaming with country music singer Lee Greenwood and seeking donations to buy $59.99 leather-bound “God Bless the USA” Bibles.

President Donald Trump leaves the chamber after addressing a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP)

Trump order denies student loan relief to nonprofit workers engaged in ‘improper’ activity

President Donald Trump is ordering changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that would disqualify workers of nonprofit groups deemed to have engaged in “improper” activities.

Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, arrives for a hearing of the Health, Education, and Labor Committee on her nomination, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Trump administration cancels $400M in grants and contracts with Columbia University

The Trump administration says it’s pulling $400 million from Columbia University. Multiple federal agencies announced Friday that they’re canceling grants and contracts because of what the government describes as the Ivy League school’s lackluster efforts to squelch antisemitism on campus.

Father Corey Wilson, right, mourns alongside other grieving family members during a vigil for his son, Caleb Wilson, outside of Southern University's Smith-Brown Student Union on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Baton Rouge, La. (Javier Gallegos/The Advocate via AP)

1 arrested, more suspects sought after Southern University fraternity hazing death

Police say one arrest has been made and at least two more are expected in connection with the death of a 20-year-old Southern University student after an off-campus fraternity hazing ritual.

An American flag hangs in a classroom as students work on laptops, Aug. 25, 2020, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Federal judge won’t order immigration officials to change school arrests policy

A federal judge says he won’t order immigration authorities to revert to a Biden-era policy limiting arrests at schools after officials in Denver challenged new policies from the Trump administration.

Ed Martin speaks at an event at the Capitol in Washington, June 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)

Georgetown law dean rebuffs DEI warning from top federal prosecutor for DC

Georgetown Law School’s dean has rebuffed an unusual warning from the top federal prosecutor for Washington, D.C., that his office won’t hire the private school’s students if it doesn’t eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Father Corey Wilson, right, mourns alongside other grieving family members during a vigil for his son, Caleb Wilson, outside of Southern University's Smith-Brown Student Union on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Baton Rouge, La. (Javier Gallegos/The Advocate via AP)

Charges of hazing and manslaughter being considered following death of Southern University student

Louisiana authorities investigating the death of a 20-year-old Southern University student say they expect multiple people to face charges in relation to the case.

President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Trump slashed teacher training, citing DEI. Educators say the grants fought staff shortages

In an overhaul of an agency President Donald Trump has described as being infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists,” the Education Department cut $600 million in grants to teacher training programs, which it characterized as supporting divisive ideologies.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and fellow Democrats, from left, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., criticize President Donald Trump for his plan to shut down the Education Department, during a news conference at the Capitol, in Washington, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Trump is dismantling the Education Department. Here’s what it does

President Donald Trump has said he wants his new education chief, Linda McMahon, to “put herself out of a job” and close the Education Department.

Coach Beulah Osueke works with the Chestnut Hill Youth Sports Club Lightning 6th grade girls basketball team in Philadelphia, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sports is a powerful tool for grassroots empowerment. A Philly basketball coach made it her focus

Throughout her eight-year coaching tenure, Beulah Osueke built the West Catholic Lady Burrs from an afterthought to a championship-winning program.

Lara Ganz, right, director of Theatre Palisades Youth, works on blocking with Anna Telehowski, 14, left, on opening night of the musical Crazy for You after the group lost their theater in the Palisades fire, Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jocelyn Gecker)

A youth theater production rises from the ashes of the Los Angeles fires

A children’s theater group in Pacific Palisades lost its beloved playhouse to the Los Angeles fires. They were determined the show must go on.

Maryam Alwan, a student at Columbia University who received a disciplinary notice from the school accusing her of helping to publish a newspaper op-ed critical of Israel, poses for a photo outside the campus, Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Facing Trump’s threats, Columbia investigates students critical of Israel

A new Columbia University disciplinary committee is investigating students who have criticized Israel.

Father Corey Wilson, right, mourns alongside other grieving family members during a vigil for his son, Caleb Wilson, outside of Southern University's Smith-Brown Student Union on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Baton Rouge, La. (Javier Gallegos/The Advocate via AP)

Southern University student’s death being investigated as a possible act of fraternity hazing

The death of a 20-year-old Southern University student in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is being investigated by law enforcement as a possible act of fraternity hazing.