Trump to Sign Order Dismantling Education Department Today

HEADLINES

Trump to Sign Order Dismantling Education Department Today (POLITICO, March 19, 2025) Trump’s executive order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate” her department’s closure “and return education authority to the States,” according to a summary obtained by POLITICO. 

Medical School Accreditors Continue to Push DEI, Putting Administrators in a Bind (National Review, March 18, 2025) Accreditation organizations continue to pressure the medical schools in their charge to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion at the expense of rigorous training for the next generation of health-care professionals, forcing administrators to choose whether to comply with the Trump administration’s new anti-DEI push and jeopardize their accreditation, or risk their accreditation by ditching the divisive identity politics.

Kansas House Follows the Kansas Senate’s Lead on Bill Intervening in College, University Accreditation (News From The States, March 17, 2025) The Kansas House delivered preliminary approval Monday on legislation forbidding external postsecondary educational organizations from compelling a Kansas public and private college or university to violate state law in order to receive full accreditation. The bill previously passed by the Kansas Senate was championed by two out-of-state, conservative organizations lobbying to convince states to move higher education away from certain ideologies, programs or expenditures.

Sonny Ramaswamy: Higher Ed Must Be Proactive (Inside Higher Ed, March 11, 2025) After seven years leading an accrediting agency, Sonny Ramaswamy is retiring, but he urged higher education leaders to speak up and tell their stories amid mounting political challenges. Ramaswamy said, “…let us as educators let us as accreditors demonstrate that value proposition [and] tell the story. Don’t wait. Get college presidents, students, and alumni to speak to the value of higher education. The accreditors have a secondary role since the primary role is going to be institutional leadership, alumni, board members, and others to speak to why the accountability system that we have is important.