Latest news with #ElementaryandSecondaryEducationAct
UPI
2 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Coalition sues Trump admin. for freezing billions in education funds
A coalition on Monday sued the Department of Education, under Secretary Linda McMahon, for freezing billions in education funding. File Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo July 22 (UPI) -- A coalition of school districts, teachers' unions, nonprofits and parents has filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of illegally withholding nearly $7 billion in Congress-approved education funding. In the lawsuit filed Monday, the coalition asks a U.S. District Court in Rhode Island to compel the Department of Education and the White House Office of Management and Budget to release the funding, which supports low-income students, teacher training, English learners, immigrant students and after-school programs. According to the lawsuit, the Department of Education is required to disburse Elementary and Secondary Education Act funds on July 1. But on June 30, states were informed that the department would not be disbursing nearly $7 billion in ESEA funds and that a new policy had been adopted requiring a review to first be conducted to ensure the money is spent "in accordance with the president's priorities," the lawsuit states, citing the letter. The Trump administration provided the states with neither a timeline nor assurances that the funds would be released, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit comes as the Trump administration has been dismantling the Department of Education, in line with President Donald Trump's March executive order seeking to shutter the department and return its authorities to the states. Last week, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court approved Trump's mass firings at the department. At the same time, 24 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over its freezing of billions of dollars in education funds. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten described the Trump administration's freeze on Monday as throwing a "monkey wrench" at millions of U.S. educators. "These are long-term, school-based programs, already passed by Congress and signed into law by the president," she said in a statement. "Since day one, the Trump administration has attacked public education, undermining opportunity in America. Now it is trying to lawlessly defund education unilaterally through rampant government overreach. It's not only morally repugnant: the administration lacks the legal right to sacrifice kids' futures at the alter of ideology." Among the plaintiffs are Alaska's largest school district, Anchorage School District; Cincinnati Public Schools and Fairbanks North Star Borough, among others.
Korea Herald
4 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Lee Jae Myung pulls Education Minister nomination
President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday pulled Lee Jin-sook's nomination to become Education Minister in an unconventional fashion for South Korea's politics, Woo Sang-ho, Lee's senior secretary for political affairs, said in a briefing Sunday. Lee Jin-sook, who became the first minister nominee to have dropped out under the new administration, was one of the liberal president's picks for inaugural Cabinet members. But the 65-year-old has been embroiled in allegations related to academic plagiarism and excessive spending on her children's education overseas, which allegedly involved her violation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. "After contemplation, President Lee decided to withdraw his nomination of Lee Jin-sook as the Education Minister," Woo told reporters. Woo said he had briefed the president about the controversies and public views regarding Cabinet nominees, including the embattled Education Minister nominee, after the president held a closed-door meeting Saturday with floor leaders of rival parties. the the meeting, main opposition whip Rep. Song Eon-seog demanded that the president cancel at least two of his minister nominations. Woo added that the president's decision came after serious contemplation on Sunday afternoon, without further elaborating on how he reached his conclusion. A president's withdrawal is seen as a rare move in South Korea's politics, as most of South Korea's ministerial nominees have voluntarily withdrawn from their positions before the presidential office made any announcement. A notable exception was Cho Dong-ho, who was nominated as the Science Minister in 2019 by former President Moon Jae-in, but his nomination was canceled. However, Lee's decision Sunday translates into his possible greenlight on another controversial Gender Minister nominee, Rep. Kang Sun-woo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Woo confirmed Lee did not withdraw his nomination of Kang, without providing a reason. Kang is alleged to have abused her authority by asking her secretaries to do her personal chores and by making false statements at the hearing to conceal wrongdoing Meanwhile, Woo also confirmed a news report on Sunday that National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac was flying to Washington for talks with undisclosed government officials there. Woo added Wi's trip "is not the last one" before the proposed Aug. 1 deadline for the US tariff hike on South Korean imports and will take place "any time he finds it necessary."
Korea Herald
4 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Lee withdraws nomination for education minister nominee
SEOUL, July 20 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung has decided to withdraw his nomination of Education Minister nominee Lee Jin-sook, the presidential office said Sunday, following allegations of unlawfully sending her daughter to study abroad at an early age. Taking into consideration various opinions, the president deeply reviewed the nomination, presidential secretary for political affairs Woo Sang-ho told a press briefing, calling for the National Assembly to swiftly take follow-up measures. Lee's second daughter, now 33, was sent to study in the United States in 2007, when she was in her third year of middle school, in violation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that stipulates compulsory education up to middle school. During her confirmation hearing, Lee, an architecture professor, said she was "sincerely sorry" but emphasized that she was not aware at the time that her actions violated the law. She also faced allegations of academic plagiarism but dismissed such a claim, saying that media reports were based on a misunderstanding of the academic context. The presidential office, meanwhile, did not mention the president's remarks on Gender Equality Minister nominee Kang Sun-woo, who has also faced public scrutiny over workplace abuse allegations involving former parliamentary aides. When asked whether Lee will push ahead with the appointment of Kang, the presidential secretary said the president has only withdrawn his nomination for the education minister nominee. "It is well understood there have been various opinions but I hope the public understands the decision was made through a comprehensive review," Woo said.
Korea Herald
4 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Lee Jae Myung faces mounting criticism over minister picks
President Lee Jae Myung faces calls to cancel some ministerial picks as he moves to fill Cabinet posts, while all eyes are on whether Lee will override the criticism raised against some nominees. The conservative main opposition People Power Party's interim leader, Rep. Song Eon-seog, demanded that Lee not proceed with presidential nominations of at least two nominees at a closed-door meeting with President Lee and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's floor leader Rep. Kim Byung-kee, according to the People Power Party. There, Kim demanded that Lee approve all 16 minister nominees who completed the confirmation hearing over the past week. This came alongside the main opposition party's statement Sunday that the presidential nominations of Rep. Kang Sun-woo to lead the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and former Chungnam National University President Lee Jin-sook for Education Minister should be withdrawn. In South Korea, a president may proceed with the approval of their nominations for all Cabinet ministers once they have undergone a parliamentary confirmation hearing. The National Assembly is supposed to adopt confirmation hearing reports if the two rival parties agree on the presidential nomination, but they are not required for a president to proceed with his approval. Kang, a two-time lawmaker of the ruling party, is suspected of having abused her authority by asking her secretaries to do her personal chores. Lee is embroiled in allegations related to academic plagiarism and excessive spending on her children's education overseas, which allegedly involved a violation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The brewing controversy over Lee's nomination of Kang has drawn mixed reactions, even from within the ruling party. Rep. Jung Chung-rae, who openly expressed support for Kang by describing her as not only "a warmhearted mother and outstanding lawmaker" but also a "soon-to-be gender equality minister," has taken the lead in the primary to elect the new chair of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Jung's contender and former party whip Rep. Park Chan-dae, on the other hand, called for prudence before the presidential confirmation of the matter. According to the presidential office, Lee was to make up his mind on his nominations following a presidential office closed-door briefing on Sunday; his final decision had yet to be announced as of press time. Meanwhile, such controversies appear to have had little impact on Lee's popularity. A poll by Gallup Korea showed Friday that Lee's job approval rating reached 64 percent, as responses hovered around the mid-60 percent range over the past month. Among those who disapproved of Lee's performance, only 11 percent cited his presidential nominations as the reason for their disapproval. Before Sunday, Lee approved the nominations of six ministers of the Cabinet. These are Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yoon-cheol, Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon, Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, Interior Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok gained a final presidential confirmation on July 3. They were among the 16 ministerial nominees who underwent confirmation hearings throughout the previous week. Along with them, Lim Kwang-hyun, who was picked for the role of the chief of the tax authorities — a vice-ministerial level position — also went through the hearing. South Korea's Cabinet comprises 20 members, including a prime minister and 19 ministers. Among them, incumbent Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung, who had been serving in the role before President Lee took office, will not undergo a confirmation hearing. The two remaining nominees — Chae Hwi-young of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Kim Yun-duk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport — have yet to go through confirmation hearings.
Chicago Tribune
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Indian Prairie District 204 board OKs applications to state board of education for funding waivers for three schools
Following school board approval on Monday, Indian Prairie School District 204 is applying to the Illinois State Board of Education to have three of its schools — Brookdale, Gombert and McCarty elementary schools — designated as Title I schoolwide, a designation for schools with high percentages of low-income students, next school year. Title I funding helps schools pay for resources meant to improve students' education and help ensure they meet state academic standards, according to the state board. Brookdale, Gombert and McCarty all have percentages of low-income students between 20% and 39%, per a memo from the district's Deputy Superintendent Louis Lee that was part of Monday's meeting agenda, so the district is going through a waiver process with the state to allow the schools to obtain schoolwide status, which allows them to use the funding they receive for all students in the building, regardless of income level. Schools with low-income student populations above 40% qualify for the schoolwide designation automatically. But schools with at least 20% but less than 40% low-income students can also operate as schoolwide Title I programs if they apply for and receive a waiver from their state educational agency, in this case the Illinois State Board of Education, according to the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Two other elementary schools in the district, Georgetown and Longwood, have had the schoolwide designation, meaning their low-income student population was at or above 40%, since the 2018-19 school year, a district spokesperson said, and are being designated as such for the 2025-26 school year as well. Title I, Part A is part of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. It provides additional financial assistance to school districts for children coming from low-income families, with the goal of closing 'educational achievement gaps by allocating federal funds for education programs and services.' Title I allocations are based primarily on local education agencies' poverty estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, and then are allocated within each local agency to schools based on their poverty rates, commonly measured by the number of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Title I funding is provided by the federal government to the state, which then disburses it to the schools, Lee said. But which schools qualify for Title I funding can change from year to year based on enrollment. Gombert and McCarty have received Title I funding since the 2018-19 school year, according to a district spokesperson. McCarty's percentage of low-income students used to be over 40%, but has recently decreased, Lee said. And the district is applying for a waiver for Brookdale for the first time this year. In their applications, school districts need to provide rationale for why a school needs a schoolwide waiver. For Brookdale, for example, the district noted that the school now qualifies for Title I funding because it is seeing rising numbers of low-income students. Gombert was previously supported by targeted funds, but has had schoolwide status for several years, and the district said in its application that, since receiving Title funding, 'the growth of students has been significant due to the added layers of intervention across the school and support provided to families.' McCarty previously had a schoolwide designation, and the district wrote that continued schoolwide status is still needed to improve academic achievement and support social-emotional learning. Lee said there are a number of reasons low-income student populations in schools vary from year to year and are part of overall changes in the student body, like slight declines in district enrollment and increasing ethnic diversity. But he sees supporting a diverse student body as part of the district's strength. According to ISBE, last year Indian Prairie received just over $2.2 million districtwide in Title I, Part A funding and funding for neglected and delinquent children, which goes toward schools with high percentages of children from low-income families and to educational programs for children in state-operated institutions or community day programs, respectively. The Title I funding is reimbursement-based, and the district files expense reports quarterly, according to a district spokesperson. Title I funding provides the schools that receive it with additional funding on top of what they'd receive already, which can go toward things like arts and social-emotional learning programs or to pay for additional staff in a school to work with students in smaller groups, Lee said. And they have flexibility in how they spend it, he said. A school's leadership can determine how they use the Title I funding, though Lee said at Indian Prairie all the Title I schools meet regularly to share ideas about what kind of programming is and isn't working. Now, after obtaining board approval on Monday, the applications for the three schools' waivers will be submitted to the Illinois State Board of Education. The United States Department of Education released Title I, Part A funding on May 14, according to a state board spokesperson, and the state agency is in the process of releasing its allocations.
