As the Trump administration continues its warpath against wasteful government spending, the Department of Education announced its termination of $600 million in federal grants paid for by taxpayers. In an announcement, the Department listed the grants ending, and examples of how the money went to critical race theory, social justice activism, “anti-racism,” diversity, equity, and inclusion, and other progressive tools.
Action by the Department of Education was taken after it warned schools they had two weeks to shut down DEI initiatives that violate federal anti-discrimination law, or they would risk losing their funding.
One of the grant applications mentioned taught programs on how to acknowledge and respond to “systemic forms of oppression and inequity.” Another program required trainees to take responsibility for “systemic inequities” on a personal and institutional level. A separate grant proposal would have taught “abolitionist pedagogies” and “diversity in classroom management” to attendees.
The grants ended didn’t just include what was taught, but also featured recruiting strategies “implicitly and explicitly based on race,” the department noted in its announcement. The grant applications included programs focused on “equity trainings” in topics such as “Dismantling Racial Bias” and “Centering Equity in the Classroom.”
Breitbart News notes how President Trump has repeatedly promised to abolish the Education Department and send federal funds to states to handle their own education systems. His administration is preparing an executive order to eliminate the agency, NBC News reported earlier this month, citing two sources familiar with the plans.
“One other thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., and sending all education and education work and needs back to the states,” Trump said in September 2023.
Talks of dismantling or a complete overhaul of the Department are nothing new; even President Ronald Reagan chastised the agency for its lack of results. However, according to Breitbart, “If Trump terminates the agency through executive order rather than by going through Congress, he will probably face significant legal challenges from progressive groups, left-wing teachers’ unions, and Democratic states.”