(The Epoch Times)—The U.S. Education Department on Monday said it has canceled $600 million in grants for educator training programs that promote “divisive ideologies.”
The grants had been awarded to teacher preparation programs that trained future educators in what the department said were “inappropriate and unnecessary topics,” such as critical race theory, which promotes the fundamental framework view that racism is embedded in all institutions and aspects of society; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); and social justice activism. Some of the defunded programs also included race-based teacher recruitment and staffing strategies, according to the department.
The department provided examples of the defunded training programs, including those that required educators to acknowledge “systemic inequities” like racism and “critically reassess” their own teaching practices. Others offered professional development workshops on “Building Cultural Competence,” “Dismantling Racial Bias,” and “Centering Equity in the Classroom.”
Some initiatives guided teachers to “interrupt racial marginalization and oppression of students.” There were also programs promoting an “abolitionist pedagogy” which, according to Bettina L. Love, the professor who coined the term, applies a “critical race lens” to classrooms and encourages teachers to organize marches and boycotts against their colleagues perceived as “racist, homophobic, or Islamophobic.”
The decision to cut these grants aligns with the broader cost-cutting measures led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory body led by Elon Musk, and with President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to dismantle DEI initiatives across the federal government.
Trump on Jan. 21 signed an executive order directing government educational institutions to end all DEI efforts.
“Illegal DEI and DEIA policies not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system,” the order read. “The Federal Government is charged with enforcing our civil-rights laws. The purpose of this order is to ensure that it does so by ending illegal preferences and discrimination.”
A study by Parents Defending Education, an independent organization that rallies against ideological indoctrinations in K-12 schools, found that since 2021, the Education Department has spent at least $1 billion on various DEI-related initiatives. That includes approximately $490 million on DEI hiring efforts, $343 million on DEI programming, and $170 million on DEI-related mental health programs.
Over the weekend, the Education Department reaffirmed its stance that DEI initiatives conflict with federal non-discrimination laws. Its civil rights enforcement division warned that failure to ensure compliance could result in a loss of federal funding.
“The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, wrote in a letter sent to the education departments in all 50 states.
While emphasizing the obligations under Title VI, the federal law prohibiting discrimination based on race for institutions that receive federal dollars, the letter also referenced the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision, which found it unconstitutional for public and private colleges to use racial preferences in admissions.
“At its core, the test is simple: If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that person’s race, the educational institution violates the law,” the letter said.
Over the weekend, the Education Department reaffirmed its stance that DEI initiatives conflict with federal non-discrimination laws. Its civil rights enforcement division warned that failure to ensure compliance could result in a loss of federal funding.
Why One Survival Food Company Shines Above the Rest
Let’s be real. “Prepper Food” or “Survival Food” is generally awful. The vast majority of companies that push their cans, bags, or buckets desperately hope that their customers never try them and stick them in the closet or pantry instead. Why? Because if the first time they try them is after the crap hits the fan, they’ll be too shaken to call and complain about the quality.
It’s true. Most long-term storage food is made with the cheapest possible ingredients with limited taste and even less nutritional value. This is why they tout calories so much. Sure, they provide calories but does anyone really want to go into the apocalypse with food their family can’t stand?
This is what prompted the Llewellyns to launch Heaven’s Harvest. They bought survival food from multiple companies and determined they couldn’t imagine being stuck in an extended emergency with such low-quality food. They quickly discovered that freeze drying food for long-term storage doesn’t have to mean sacrificing flavor, consistency, or nutrition.
Their ingredients are all-American. In fact, they’re locally sourced and all-natural! This allows their products to be the highest quality on the market, so good that their customers often break open a bag in a pinch to eat because they want to, not just because they have to due to an emergency.
At Heaven’s Harvest, their only focus is amazing food. They don’t sell bugout bags, solar chargers, or multitools. They have one mission – feeding Americans in times of crisis.
What they DO offer is the ability for people to thrive in times of greatest need. On top of long-term storage food, they offer seeds to help Americans for the truly long-term. They want them to grow their own food if possible which is why they offer only Heirloom, Non-GMO, Non-Hybrid, Open-Pollinated seeds so their customers can build permanent food security on their own property.
A DOE project?
The trans movement, epidemic (or whatever you want to call it) exploded in the early-mid 2000’s. Thousands of underaged kids all over the country suddenly decided to change their gender.
They didn’t come up with the idea all on their own.
There was a teacher behind each and every case – suggesting, nurturing, gaining the child’s confidence, and affirming that gender dysphoria is normal. Those teachers were backed and protected by administrators and school boards.
Shouldn’t that PATTERN warrant an investigation?
– Who are these teachers?
– Where are they from?
– Who do they really work for?
– Where were they educated and trained?=====================================================================