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cover of episode What Trump’s Threatened Education Cuts Mean for Students, Schools

What Trump’s Threatened Education Cuts Mean for Students, Schools

2025/3/12
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AI Deep Dive AI Chapters Transcript
People
E
Eric Kelderman
E
Erica Meltzer
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Grace Wan
Z
Zainab
Topics
Grace Wan: 我关注的是特朗普政府对教育部的重大裁员和拨款削减,这将对美国的教育产生深远的影响。政府解雇了教育部近一半的员工,并取消了哥伦比亚大学4亿美元的拨款,同时对其他60所大学发起了类似的调查。这些行动削弱了教育部的职能,并引发了人们对教育未来走向的担忧。 Erica Meltzer: 教育部裁员对学生资助、民权调查和教育研究等核心部门造成了严重打击。这些削减将影响到贫困学校、英语学习者、残疾学生和教师培训等重要领域。此外,政府对民权执法的做法也发生了重大转变,这引发了人们的担忧。 Eric Kelderman: 教育部员工总数大幅减少,这不仅包括直接裁员,还包括提前退休和接受买断的人员。政府无法完全关闭教育部,因为这需要国会立法,所以只能通过裁员削弱其权力和影响力。削弱甚至取消教育部是共和党长期以来的目标,并非特朗普首创。共和党反对教育部的原因在于其认为教育部对教育的控制过多,希望将权力和资金下放给各州。 Barbara: 我在马林县的一所高中工作,我注意到学校董事会近年来变得更加保守,这影响了课程设置和教学方式。我担心联邦政府削减教育经费会对加州的高中产生后续影响,特别是对不同地区学校的影响不同。 Whitney: 我想知道联邦政府削减教育经费会如何影响学生贷款债务,以及这些被裁减的教育部员工在下一届政府上任后是否能够被重新雇用。 Zainab: 我担心联邦政府对K-12教育的10%资助被削减会对班级规模产生重大影响,因为加州的学校班级规模已经很大了。 Liz: 削减对三岁及以上儿童的资助将对特殊教育产生深远的影响,这将影响到每一个孩子和家庭。 Scott: 我想知道消除教育部的最终目的是什么,例如家庭学校或营利性特许学校。 Teresa: 我想知道联邦政府对大学的削减会如何影响研究生院,特别是博士项目。 Chris: 我认为特朗普政府的这些行动是为了让大学教育只对精英阶层开放。

Deep Dive

Chapters
The Trump administration's decision to lay off nearly half of the Education Department's workforce raises concerns about the future of education in the U.S. The layoffs impact various divisions, including financial aid, civil rights investigations, and education research, potentially affecting core functions and funding streams for schools.
  • Mass layoffs at the Department of Education (1,300 employees, nearly 50% of its workforce)
  • Layoffs impact financial aid, civil rights investigations, education research, and core functions
  • Concerns about the department's ability to function effectively and maintain core services

Shownotes Transcript

The Trump Administration cut $400 million in grants to Columbia for its alleged failure to address anti-semitism on campus. And 60 more universities are on Trump’s target list for similar cuts, including UC Berkeley, all while the federal Department of Education is on the chopping block. We’ll talk about the potential impacts on students from kindergarten to college, and why the Department of Education has long been in Republican crosshairs.

Guests:

Eric Kelderman, senior writer, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Erica Meltzer, national editor,Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization that covers education; Meltzer covers education policy and politics for Chalkbeat