Trump’s Education Department Axes $600 Million In ‘Social Justice Activism’ Grants
By Jaryn Crouson, Daily Caller News Foundation | February 18, 2025
The Department of Education announced Monday that it cut $600 million in grants that used taxpayer funds on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) teacher training programs.
The “divisive” trainings were geared toward teachers and “education agencies” and contained topics including critical race theory (CRT), “social justice activism” and “anti-racism,” which the department referred to as “inappropriate and unnecessary,” the press release stated. Several of the grants also went toward recruitment strategies for teachers and staff based on race.
Some grants required trainees “to take personal and institutional responsibility for systemic inequities (e.g., racism)” and acknowledge “systemic forms of oppression and inequity, including racism, ableism, “gender-based” discrimination, homophobia, and ageism,” the department said. Other workshops focused on “Dismantling Racial Bias” and “Centering Equity in the Classroom.”
“As The Nation’s Report Card (NAEP) recently indicated, America’s students are falling dangerously behind in math and reading,” Savannah Newhouse, a Department of Education spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Teacher prep programs should be prioritizing training that prepares youth with the fundamentals they need to succeed for the future, not wasting valuable training resources on divisive ideologies. The U.S. Department of Education will continue working to ensure taxpayer dollars are used wisely to strengthen America’s education system.”
President Donald Trump made it his mission to dismantle divisive DEI initiatives within the department and other federal agencies. Since Trump took office, hundreds of documents outlining DEI practices have already been wiped from the department’s website, several related teams have been dissolved and staff members have been placed on administrative leave and DEI trainings have been halted. The department also demanded recently that all schools immediately end any efforts to use “race-based preferences and other forms of racial discrimination” when making admission decisions or when administering any other program, warning that failure to comply will result in the loss of federal funding.
Recent data revealed American students have fallen substantially behind in academics since the pandemic, failing to regain learning losses under the Biden administration. Reading scores for fourth and eighth grade students remain in a decline and math scores for both grades have stagnated.
Former President Joe Biden’s education plan included pouring millions of taxpayer funds into topics such as “LGBTQ inclusion” and “anti-racism and anti-oppression” into schools.
This article has been updated to include a comment provided to the DCNF from the Department of Education.
Jaryn Crouson is a contributor at the Daily Caller News Foundation
Original article link