Weekly Update- 8/18/2025

Weekly Update 8/18/2025

President and Administration:

Federal judge declares Education Department’s attempt to bar diversity programs unlawful: A federal judge in Maryland struck down the Trump administration’s attempts to require schools to comply with a conservative interpretation of federal anti-discrimination law. The ruling vacates a February 14th Education Department letter prohibiting schools from considering…

Bondi seeks to rescind D.C. police immigration policies as enforcement ramps up: The administration signaled on August 14th that it would use its takeover of the D.C. police to intensify federal immigration enforcement. The move comes amid rapid policy shifts, with…

In reversal, FEMA won’t deny grants to cities that boycott Israeli firms: The administration reversed a policy that would have barred states and cities from receiving FEMA grants if they enacted boycotts against Israeli companies. Earlier guidance linked FEMA funding to compliance…

Latino GOP Lawmakers voice concern about Trump’s mass deportation campaign: Hispanic Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are warning that President Trump’s aggressive deportation efforts could alienate Latino voters, threatening GOP gains from 2024. As Texas Republicans redraw congressional maps to bolster their party’s chances in the 2026…

Teen suicidal thoughts and depression decline, federal report finds: A new federal analysis of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts among U.S. teens have declined between 2021 and 2024. Serious suicidal thoughts among 12-to-17-year-olds fell from nearly 13 percent to 10 percent, while suicide attempts dropped…

Congress:

The unusual GOP alliance pushing earmarks in this fall’s funding fight: House Republicans are weighing the return of earmarks, rebranded as “community project funding,” as a way to break a looming budget impasse before federal funding expires on Sept. 30. Vulnerable incumbents in the business-friendly Main Street Caucus and some fiscal conservatives, including Freedom Caucus…

California:

What to know about the California Democrats’ redistricting plan: On Friday, 8/15, California Democrats finalized their plan to take five GOP House seats next year by redrawing the state’s congressional lines. The new lines, which voters would need to approve in…

Education:

NACSA & CLE &Vimenti: Education Department eyes special education in school choice expansion: At the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs’ annual conference, Diana Diaz-Harrison, deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services…

Administration pursues gradual dismantling of Education Department: Republicans are exploring a piecemeal approach to fulfilling the President’s campaign promise to abolish the Education Department, rather than attempting an immediate shutdown. The President issued an executive order in March instructing Secretary Linda McMahon to “facilitate” the closure, and she has reduced…

Fears grow that Trump will cut special education support funding: Advocates warn that the administration may soon cut hundreds of millions of dollars in federal special education grants under Part D of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which fund research, teacher training, technology development, and parent support services. While core IDEA funding that flows directly to schools remains intact…

Judge rules that Trump can’t defund education research programs: A federal judge in Maryland ruled that the Education Department cannot terminate funding for two congressionally mandated programs—the Comprehensive Centers and Regional Educational Laboratories—that conduct research to reduce achievement gaps. The decision blocks an administration move to end the programs…

Weekly Update- 07/28/2025

Weekly Update 07/28/2025

Special Immigration Policy Updates: 

Administration sues New York City for impeding immigration crackdown efforts: The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Thursday (7/24) against New York City and its officials…

Judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit over Chicago’s sanctuary protections for immigrants: A federal judge has dismissed the administration’s lawsuit against Illinois and Chicago over their sanctuary policies…

Vermont DOC moves to publicly display data on detained immigrants; advocates pleased but pushing for more: The Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) is developing a public dashboard to provide…

President and Administration:

Trump signs executive order pushing to institutionalize homeless people: The President signed an executive order Thursday (7/24) entitled Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets that directs federal agencies to prioritize enforcement of bans on urban camping, loitering, and drug use…

Administration releasing $6 billion in education funding it withheld: The administration on Friday (7/25) released approximately $6 billion in federal education funding that had been frozen earlier…

Congress:
House Appropriations: The House is on recess until September 2. It has moved the markup of the Commerce Justice and Science (CJS) Bill to after the August recess. 

Senate Appropriations: The Senate has advanced the (1) Transportation Housing and Urban Development (2) Interior-Environment and (3) Defense and Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Bills through committee. 

California:

Trump’s crackdown on homelessness: What does it mean for California: The President’s new executive order on homelessness mirrors aspects of Governor Gavin Newsom’s approach, such as enforcing encampment bans and expanding involuntary treatment for people with serious mental…

Education:

Flag for LVJUSD: The Education Department says gender policies in five Virginia districts violate the law: The Department of Education announced that gender identity policies in five Northern Virginia…

Education Department issues AI priorities, but guidance remains unsure: The U.S. Department of Education issued new guidance encouraging states and school districts to use existing federal grants…

Senate HELP Committee advances Trump Education nominees, including slow-rolled pick: The Senate HELP Committee advanced two of the President’s Education Department nominees, Mary Christina Riley…

HHS withholding Head Start funds violated Impoundment Control Act, government watchdog finds: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Department of Health and Human Services violated the Impoundment Control Act…

Weekly Update- 07/21/2025

Weekly Update 07/21/2025

Special Education Update:

On Tuesday (7/15), Secretary McMahon announced that she would begin transitioning career and technical programs, adult education, and family literacy to the Department of Labor (DOL), following the Supreme Court ruling allowing mass layoffs at the Department of Education (DOE). Programs being moved from the DOE include…

President and Administration:

Education Department moves to shift workforce grants to Labor: The administration is moving ahead with its plan to transfer administration of key career and technical education grant programs from the Education Department to the Department of Labor (DOL), following a Supreme Court decision that allowed mass layoffs at the Education Department to proceed. The two agencies signed an agreement….

Administration cuts specialized suicide prevention service for LGBTQ+ youth: The administration is ending specialized suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth on the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, a move that mental health experts and advocates warn could have severe…

Congress:

Republicans renew a bid to remove noncitizens from the census tally behind voting maps: House Republicans are advancing legislation that would exclude undocumented immigrants from the 2030 census counts used to determine congressional representation and Electoral College…

Republican Senator aims to roll back Medicaid cuts he voted for two weeks ago: Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced legislation on 7/15, to reverse key Medicaid cuts included in a Republican domestic policy bill he supported just two…

Rescissions - Take Two: Building on the GOP success of the $9 billion rescission package becoming law, OMB Director Vought stated that “It's likely you'll see an additional package. We're not there. We're not here to announce anything on this front but in terms of seeing whether this was a useful…

California:

California sues Trump again, this time over money for kids: Two dozen states, including California, sued the administration last week over the Department of Education’s decision to withhold $7 billion in federal education funds intended for programs such as English learning, teacher training…
Puerto Rico:

Rum -  the quiet winners in Trump’s big bill: The government of Puerto Rico will see increased revenue following a change in how rum exported from the island is taxed…

Education: 

The new nicotine product replacing e-cigarettes to addict teens: Teen vaping has dropped significantly since its 2019 peak, but nicotine pouches pose a new public health threat. Nicotine pouches are marketed as a less harmful alternative for adults, these products are rapidly gaining…

Weekly Update-07/14/2025

Weekly Update 07/14/2025

President and Administration:

Supreme Court allows Trump mass layoff and restructuring plans: On Tuesday, 7/8, the Supreme Court ruled to lift a lower court’s block on plans to dismiss thousands of federal workers without prior congressional… 

Administration leaves Congress in dark on spending decisions: More than $6 billion in education funding remains on hold by the administration, leaving school districts uncertain as they prepare for the new school year. The Office of Management and Budget has attributed the delay to a programmatic review…

In flooded Texas, questions about FEMA’s role and fate: While FEMA did deploy personnel to the flooded Texas region following flash floods over the July 4 weekend, current and former officials maintain that the federal response has been limited compared to the state’s…

Congress:

GOP leader faces showdown with Republicans on Trump-backed funding cuts: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) faces opposition from several Republican senators this week over a House-approved rescissions package that proposes cutting $9.4 billion…

California:

Newsom excites red-state Democrats, but some worry about a Californian: California Governor Gavin Newsom toured rural counties in South Carolina this week, energizing Democrats and drawing attention to federal disaster relief needs while continuing to deflect questions about a potential…

Justice Department sues California over transgender athlete policy: On Wednesday, 7/9, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against California over its policy allowing transgender girls…

Education: 

Supreme Court clears way for dismantling of Education Department: In a major victory for the administration, the Supreme Court on Monday (7/14) allowed it to fire thousands of Education Department employees, functionally eliminating the agency…

School districts grapple with ‘budgetary chaos’ in wake of federal funding freeze: The U.S. Department of Education has delayed the release of $6.2 billion in federal K-12 grant funding, prompting concern…

USDA reverses guidance protecting LGBTQ students against discrimination in school meals: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reversed a Biden-era policy that extended anti-discrimination protections based on gender identity and sexual orientation to school meal…

Education Department dismisses thousands of civil rights complaints at an ‘unheard of’ pace: The U.S. Department of Education has dismissed thousands of civil rights complaints in recent months, raising concerns among advocates and former officials about…

Weekly Update-07/07/2025

Weekly Update 07/07/2025

Special Section: One Big Beautiful Bill:

This provides an overview of key policy changes in OBBB. Please let us know if there are any other topic areas that would be helpful…

President and Administration:

Central Texas flash floods emergency, with questions on National Weather Service capabilities: Flash floods triggered by intense overnight rainfall in central Texas have devastated communities, rapidly submerging areas and destroying structures as river levels surged 26 feet…

Congress:

Appropriations: The Senate Appropriations Committee will conduct the first markups of FY26 bills on Thursday (7/10), with (1) Commerce, Justice, Science…

The House Appropriations Committee will conduct markups of FY26 bills next Thursday (7/17), with (1) the Full Committee markup of Transportation, Housing…

California:
With vote to scale back California’s environmental law, legislature clears way for budget: California lawmakers approved Governor Gavin Newsom’s demand to weaken environmental review rules under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in order to accelerate…

Education: 

Trump freezes allocations and distributions of formula grant funding, upending school budgets: The Trump administration abruptly froze $6.2 billion in federal education grants—$811 million of which were designated for California—just one day before funds were set…

Sixteen states sue Trump administration to restore mental health grants for schools: Sixteen states, including California, have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to abruptly cancel nearly $1 billion…

​​Mass dismissals of Education Department civil rights complaints prompt concern from former officials: The U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) dismissed over 3,400 civil rights complaints in just over three months under the Trump administration, raising serious concerns…