Civil Rights, on Paid Leave: The True Costs of Trump鈥檚 Ed. Dept. Cuts
There鈥檚 an innate tension between school safety and students鈥� civil rights. 麻豆精品鈥檚 Mark Keierleber keeps you up to date on the news you need to know.
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When the Trump administration decimated the Education Department鈥檚 civil rights office last year, thousands of students waiting for relief from alleged racial and sexual discrimination in schools were left to languish.
It turns out the move to sideline half of the Office for Civil Rights staff , according to a new report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office. Nearly a year later, the Education Department still can鈥檛 say whether it saved a dime.
GAO estimates the decision to place civil rights staffers on paid administrative leave, while simultaneously shuttering most of its regional offices, cost upwards of $38 million for the salaries and benefits of staffers who were kept home.
鈥淥ther costs,鈥� the government watchdog noted, 鈥渁re unknown.鈥�
Without a full accounting of costs and savings, the watchdog concluded, the the shakeup improved efficiency, saved money or better served students 鈥� the very reasons used to justify the cuts in the first place.
In the news
The latest in Trump鈥檚 immigration crackdown: Minnesota school districts and the state鈥檚 teachers union filed a lawsuit demanding reinstatement of a longstanding policy against immigration enforcement activities near schools and other 鈥渟ensitive locations.鈥� |
- A Minnesota 11-year-old and her mother will be reunited with their family after being held for nearly a month in a Texas detention center after getting picked up by immigration agents on their way to school. |
- The horrifying truth behind the immigration arrest of 5-year-old Liam Ramos: It wasn鈥檛 an accident. |
- The Columbia Heights school district where Liam is enrolled closed for a day this week after officials received a 鈥渞acially and politically motivated鈥� bomb threat. |
- The Columbia Heights school district where Liam is enrolled closed for a day this week after officials received a 鈥渞acially and politically motivated鈥� bomb threat. |
- 鈥楴one of this is OK鈥�: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz demanded in a letter that the federal government disclose how many of the state鈥檚 children have been detained as part of the immigration enforcement surge 鈥� and pleaded for agents to stay away from schools and bus stops. |
- Cities could be compelled to cooperate with federal immigration officials in order to access federal funds for investigations into internet crimes against children, a lawsuit alleges. |
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Big Tech in the spotlight: As TikTok and Snap settle lawsuits centered on the damaging effects of social media on children, Meta and YouTube are gearing up for closely watched trials. The tech companies face allegations the apps were designed to keep kids hooked despite known harms to their well-being. |
- Amazon reported hundreds of thousands of photos of child sexual abuse in its artificial intelligence training data 鈥� but the company鈥檚 refusal to say where it came from could hinder police efforts to track down perpetrators. |
- As Democrat- and Republican-led states pass rules designed to protect children from the potential harms of AI chatbots like ChatGPT, an executive order by President Donald Trump gives the attorney general authority to sue states with consumer protection laws that stand in the way of the country鈥檚 鈥済lobal AI dominance.鈥� |
- The head of the Federal Trade Commission came out as a strong proponent of contentious online age-verification rules, arguing 鈥渋t offers a way to unleash American innovation without compromising the health and well-being of America’s most important resource: its children.鈥� |
A North Carolina woman faces criminal charges after she allegedly kicked a pregnant school resource officer in the stomach while refusing to leave her child鈥檚 elementary school. |
鈥業t鈥檚 evil鈥�: The National Institutes of Health failed to protect genetic data of more than 20,000 U.S. children from misuse by a fringe group of researchers who used the records to claim intellectual superiority of white people over other races. |
Two Florida teenagers accused of plotting to kill a classmate will be charged as adults with attempted premeditated murder. |
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Emotional Support
麻豆精品鈥檚 Eamonn Fitzmaurice and his son Ellis to offer a few treats and scratches. 鈥淚鈥檓 a dog person,鈥� Eamonn tells me, 鈥渂ut the cats were cute.鈥�
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