News Related to Higher Education and LGBTQIA+ Stakeholders
This is a collection of reports where issues related to sexual orientation and/or identity relative to administration of colleges and universities have made the news. It is important for administrators, faculty, staff, students and other NMU constituents to be aware of what is happening across the postsecondary education landscape so we are prepared to manage changes in social conditions and/or policy.
Highlighted Articles Page
Some news has greater potential implications for NMU students and/or the NMU community. The highlighted stories at this link are included in the comprehensive list, but are pulled out on a page to help folks at NMU find the most important and useful news reports with local implications.
Recent Articles January - July 2025
A comprehensive list:
Trump’s Illegal War on the University of Pennsylvania
The administration’s punishment over transgender sports policies is plainly unjustified.
April 1, 2025
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/trumps-illegal-war-on-the-university-of-pennsylvania
A ‘Huge Step’ for Yeshiva University’s LGBTQ+ Students
The Orthodox Jewish institution will recognize its LGBTQ+ student group under a new name, concluding a lawsuit that’s stretched on for years.
March 26, 2025
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/institutions/religious-colleges/2025/03/26/yeshiva-university-settles-lgbtq-student-club
The Drag Show Goes On After Texas District Court Blocks A&M’s Ban
March 25, 2025
"The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on Monday blocked Texas A&M University system officials from enforcing a ban on on-campus drag performances."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/03/25/texas-court-blocks-ban-drag-shows-texas-am
A Historical View of Trump’s Anti-DEI Crusade
Historian Robert Cohen, whose most recent book focuses on integration at the University of Georgia, explains what we stand to lose now that anti-DEI attacks extend to the classroom.
March 25, 2025
"On the impact on education, well, it seems obvious at the higher ed level that in my field, American history, there have now been generations of pathbreaking works in African American, women’s, Native American, Asian American, Chicano and LGBT+ history that have enriched our understanding of the American past. I’m old enough to remember and can personally attest that in high school before this history made its way below the college level, we learned very little about women’s history, and that means we came out of school ignorant about the historical experience of half the population. Even worse, my generation learned nothing at all in high school about what we would today call LGBTQ+ history, and as a result of this gay students were regarded as pariahs and mistreated as such."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/diversity/race-ethnicity/2025/03/25/historian-discusses-dei-bans-through-historical-lens
Congress Eyes More Control Over Colleges
Lawmakers have introduced dozens of bills related to higher education, according to a new searchable database from Inside Higher Ed. Taken together, the proposals offer a sketch of the Republican agenda to crack down on colleges.
March 21, 2025
at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/03/21/congress-eying-more-control-over-colleges
University of Maine complies with policies restricting trans sports participation
The university’s announcement came after the U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended the school system's funding for research and programs.
March 21, 2025
More at NBC News at www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/university-maine-complies-policies-restricting-trans-sports-participat-rcna197536
Academic Publishers Braced for Slowdown as Trump DEI Purge Bites
Defunding of diversity-related research may deter American university libraries from buying titles in contentious topic areas, publishers fear.
March 21, 2025
at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/books-publishing/2025/03/21/academic-publishers-braced-slowdown-trump-dei-purge
Trump signs order closing Education Department to ‘maximum extent appropriate’
The directive comes on the heels of U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s decision to gut half the agency as its “final mission.”
March 20, 2025
“The key to improving education is empowering parents and students and reducing the role of Washington bureaucrats,” said House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chair Tim Walberg, R-Mi., in a Thursday statement. Walberg cited the Biden administration’s decisions during the pandemic, slowed student performance in the wake of the crisis, and its LGTBQ+ inclusive policies as some reasons to cut the department.
More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/trump-issues-march-2025-executive-order-gut-close-education-department/743148/
See also:
After Cutting Half Its Staff, Trump Signs an Order Directing the Education Dept. to Close
March 20, 2025
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/after-cutting-half-its-staff-trump-signs-an-order-directing-the-education-department-to-close
‘We’re Going to Shut It Down’
Nearly 60 days into his second term in office, Trump followed through on his campaign promise to dismantle the Department of Education. Now it’s up to Congress to decide if the agency will be abolished entirely.
March 19, 2025
at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/03/19/trump-signs-order-break-education-department
Trump to Sign Order Aimed at Dismantling Education Department
The order, which President Trump may sign on Thursday, will lay the groundwork for eventually shuttering the agency, reassigning some of its primary duties.
March 19, 2025
at The New York Times at www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/us/politics/trump-education-department.html
DOJ quietly making moves in appeals over Biden's Title IX trans student protections
The Title IX sex discrimination rule was challenged largely those trans protections. Now, DOJ is taking a series of steps that could make life less safe for those kids.
Feds suspend $175M to University of Pennsylvania over trans athletics policy
The Trump administration shared the news in a social media post, but a Penn spokesperson said the institution hasn’t received “official notification or any details.”
March 19, 2025
at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/feds-suspend-funding-university-pennsylvania-transgender-policy/743016/
See also:
‘Proactive Punishment’: Trump Admin Pauses $175M to Penn
The university is facing an investigation related to transgender athletes’ participation in sports, and a White House official says the freeze is “just a taste of what could be coming down the pipe.”
March 19, 2025
at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/03/19/trump-admin-pauses-175m-university-pennsylvania
Trump to Freeze $175 Million for U. of Pennsylvania in Latest Federal-Funding Threat
March 19, 2025
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/trump-to-freeze-175-million-for-u-of-pennsylvania-in-latest-federal-funding-threat
Trump administration has paused $175 million in funding to Penn for allowing transgender athlete to compete
March 19, 2025
at The Philadelphia Inquirer at www.inquirer.com/education/upenn-funding-freeze-transgender-athlete-competition-20250319.html
White House Plans to Pause $175 Million for Penn Over Transgender Policy
The decision is the latest clash between a university and the administration as it pushes schools to end diversity programming and adopt stricter discipline, among other things.
March 19, 2025
More at The New York Times at www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/us/politics/trump-to-pause-175-million-for-university-of-pennsylvania-over-transgender-policy.html
Private university leaders see negative consequences to Iowa Tuition Grant, DEI actions
March 17, 2025
"The action he referred to Monday and in his March 3 email was legislation repealing the inclusion of transgender and nonbinary people in protections against discrimination based on gender identity in the Iowa Civil Rights Act, which he called in his message 'one among many current state and federal efforts that seek to turn our differences into division.'”
More at Iowa Capital Dispatch at https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2025/03/17/private-university-leaders-see-negative-consequences-to-iowa-tuition-grant-dei-actions/
Cultural Residential Communities Under Attack Amid DEI Rollbacks
At least three institutions will end or suspend communities dedicated to LGBTQ and racial identities, leaving residents and alumni outraged.
March 14, 2025
"In the aftermath of that letter, many universities—including some private institutions and institutions in solidly blue states—began scrubbing words related to DEI from their websites and shuttering DEI offices. But only a handful of institutions have gotten rid of the housing communities, which have often been lauded for strengthening students’ sense of belonging on campus. (Belonging is associated with higher rates of retention and mental well-being, multiple studies have found.)"
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/students/residential-life/2025/03/14/residential-communities-centered-race-lgbtq-closed-2025
See also:
Education Department launches probes into over 50 colleges after anti-DEI guidance
The new probes are part of the agency’s aggressive tactics to carry out President Donald Trump’s higher education policy priorities.
March 14, 2025
at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/education-department-launches-probes-into-over-50-colleges-after-anti-dei-g/742619/
Half of OCR eliminated after Trump Education Department layoffs
The shuttering of seven civil rights enforcement offices means thousands of cases impacting colleges in half the nation are up in the air.
March 13, 2025
"The massive cuts come after the administration told OCR staff to hit pause on its open investigations, and — instead of addressing public complaints — directed its resources to addressing the president’s priorities, like scaling back Title IX to exclude LGBTQ+ rights. Following a Feb. 5 executive order barring transgender women from playing on sports teams aligning with their gender identities, the Education Department launched multiple investigations into athletic associations, colleges and schools over their sports policies."
More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/half-of-ocr-fired-after-trump-education-department-layoffs/742384/
Half of OCR eliminated after Trump Education Department layoffs
The shuttering of seven civil rights enforcement offices means thousands of cases impacting colleges in half the nation are up in the air.
March 13, 2025
"The massive cuts come after the administration told OCR staff to hit pause on its open investigations, and — instead of addressing public complaints — directed its resources to addressing the president’s priorities, like scaling back Title IX to exclude LGBTQ+ rights. Following a Feb. 5 executive order barring transgender women from playing on sports teams aligning with their gender identities, the Education Department launched multiple investigations into athletic associations, colleges and schools over their sports policies."
More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/half-of-ocr-fired-after-trump-education-department-layoffs/742384/
See also:
Assessing the Damage After the Education Department’s Mass Layoffs
The Trump administration’s deep cuts at the department hit some offices harder than others, but the effects will likely be felt by students, families and institutions across the country.
March 13, 2025
at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/student-aid-policy/2025/03/13/how-education-department-layoffs-could-affect-higher
Pregnant and parenting students fall victim to lawsuit targeting LGBTQ rights
When a federal judge scrapped new Title IX rules for LGBTQ students, expanded protections for student parents were tossed out, too.
March 11, 2025
"But those new rules were reversed in January after nearly two dozen states sued the Biden administration to block separate parts of the measure aimed at protecting LGBTQ students from discrimination. In January, a federal judge struck down the changes, which tossed out the expanded protections for pregnant and parenting students, too."
More at NBC at www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/title-ix-protections-pregnant-parenting-students-rolled-back-rcna194686
Trump orders spur fear, anxiety among Michigan LGBTQ+ students
March 7, 2025
More at Bridge at www.bridgemi.com/talent-education/trump-orders-spur-fear-anxiety-among-michigan-lgbtq-students
Anti-DEI Rhetoric Does Not Equal Legal Reality
The anti-DEI movement sounds like a row of cannons, but its legal attack is a rifle shot based on one provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Dan Currell writes.
March 7, 2025
"Iowa’s HSB60 is titled 'An Act prohibiting private institutions of higher education that participate in the Iowa tuition grant program from establishing diversity, equity, and inclusion offices.' The bill, which closely follows the structure and language of similar legislation passed for Iowa’s public universities last year, does what the title says, so the question is— what is the definition of 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' under Iowa law? For both private and public universities, DEI is defined as carrying out policies or procedures 'on the basis of' or 'with reference to' race, color or ethnicity—and in some cases gender identity, sex or sexual orientation. The definition also includes promoting 'as the official position' of the college any of a series of concepts associated with DEI."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2025/03/07/anti-dei-rhetoric-not-same-legal-reality-opinion
FIRE, LGBTQ Student Group Sue Texas A&M Over Drag Show Ban
March 6, 2025
"Students at Texas A&M University are suing their college to block a new policy from the Texas A&M University system that bans drag performances on its 11 public campuses."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/03/06/fire-lgbtq-student-group-sue-texas-am-over-drag-show-ban
See also:
Student group challenges Texas A&M drag ban
March 5, 2025
at The Hill at https://thehill.com/homenews/lgbtq/5178735-texas-am-drag-ban-trump-abbott/
In Trump’s First Weeks, Dozens of Colleges Have Shut Down DEI Efforts
March 5, 2025
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/in-trumps-first-weeks-dozens-of-colleges-have-shut-down-dei-efforts
Trump’s Anti-DEI Directives Trample on Freedom
Voluntary affinity groups are an American tradition, not a form of segregation.
March 5, 2025
"President Trump’s unrelenting campaign against DEI is threatening one of our country’s most sacred rights, the freedom of association. Consider, for instance, the University of Iowa’s decision to shutter its Latinx, LGBTQ+, and 'Young, Gifted, and Black' residential communities in the wake of Trump’s barrage of anti-DEI executive orders. Or West Point’s resolution to disband a dozen different campus affinity groups, including the Vietnamese-American Cadet Association, Spectrum (a social club that provided support for the military’s LGBTQ+ cadets), and the Society of Women Engineers."
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/trumps-anti-dei-directives-trample-on-freedom
The NIH Is Canceling Grants for Research About Trans People
March 5, 2025
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/the-nih-is-canceling-grants-for-research-about-trans-people
McMahon Outlines Her ‘Final Mission’ for the Department
March 5, 2025
"Taxpayer-funded education should refocus on meaningful learning in math, reading, science and history—not divisive DEI programs and gender ideology."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/03/05/mcmahon-outlines-her-final-mission-ed-department
Meet Our New Education Secretary, Who Has One of the Worst Resumes I’ve Ever Seen
Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon, who once lied about having an education degree and has been accused of covering up child sexual abuse, pledged "the historic overhaul of a federal agency" in her first email to staffers.
March 4, 2025
More at Jezebel at www.jezebel.com/meet-our-new-education-secretary-who-has-one-of-the-worst-resumes-ive-ever-seen
Meeting the Moment event discusses executive orders' impact on LGBTQ+ individuals
March 2, 2025
"The event was the second part of the Meeting the Moment series hosted by EMU’s Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, which aims to help community members understand how recent federal actions, such as executive orders, may impact them. The Feb. 20 event focused on executive orders that impact LGBTQ+ individuals."
More at The Eastern Echo at www.easternecho.com/article/2025/03/meeting-the-moment-event-discusses-executive-orders-impact-on-lgbtq-individuals
Facing deadline to end DEI, Michigan schools ask crucial question: What is DEI?
February 28, 2025
“'My read of both the Dear Colleague letter in terms of law and the executive orders…is that the intent is to cause fear and to have colleges impose restrictions on themselves that are not necessary,' Gavin said. 'And those restrictions are targeted at Black, Brown and LGBTQ people, which is, in fact, in my mind, antithetical to civil rights.'”
More at Bridge at www.bridgemi.com/talent-education/facing-deadline-end-dei-michigan-schools-ask-crucial-question-what-dei
Texas A&M System bans drag shows from its universities
February 28, 2025
"The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents on Friday passed a resolution banning all drag performances from taking place on its 11 university campuses."
More at Open Campus at www.opencampus.org/2025/02/28/texas-am-system-bans-drag-shows-from-its-universities/
Arizona bill to cut off state funding over college DEI courses gains traction
If signed into law, faculty at the state’s public colleges would not be able to teach about subjects like antiracism and unconscious bias.
February 28, 2025
More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/arizona-senate-bill-cut-state-funding-college-dei-courses/741326/
Trump Is Targeting DEI in Higher Ed. But What Does He Mean?
Colleges are supposed to comply with the administration’s recent guidance by the end of the week. But it’s hard to tell which activities the White House actually opposes.
February 27, 2025
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/diversity/2025/02/27/trump-targeting-dei-higher-ed-what-does-he-mean
A surge of DEI cuts hits colleges across the US
Some colleges, like Ohio State University, are reversing their stances on diversity efforts as federal and state lawmakers ratchet up the pressure.
February 27, 2025
More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/surge-dei-cuts-wave-colleges-ohio-state-upenn-iowa/741191/
Liberty University must face former trans worker’s discrimination claim, judge rules
Title VII’s religious exceptions do not apply to the situation at hand, in which a transgender worker was fired for disclosing her status and intent to transition, the court found.
February 26, 2025
More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/liberty-university-former-trans-workers-discrimination-claim-lawsuit-judge/741073/
Nevada’s education leaders scramble to understand scope of directive on diversity programs
February 25, 2025
at Las Vegas Sun at https://lasvegassun.com/news/2025/feb/25/nevadas-education-leaders-scramble-to-understand-s/
Ohio bathroom law targeting transgender students has brought internal strife to some campuses
February 23, 2025
More at AP at https://apnews.com/article/transgender-bathroom-law-ohio-antioch-oberlin-6a571aeb5a577d13f72ff4999b90ec78
USDA announces Title IX investigation into UMaine
The announcement comes a day after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights launched an investigation into the Maine Department of Education and a Maine school district.
February 22, 2025
"The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Saturday that it is launching an investigation into the University of Maine’s Title IX compliance following President Donald Trump’s threats to pull federal funding from Maine and other states that allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports."
More at the Portland Press Herald at www.pressherald.com/2025/02/22/usda-announces-title-ix-investigation-into-umaine/
‘We are the federal law’: Trump, Maine governor clash over transgender athletes
February 21, 2025
"President Trump and Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills briefly quarreled Friday at a National Governors Association session at the White House after Trump told a meeting of Republican governors he would withhold federal funding from the state over its refusal to comply with an executive order on transgender athletes."
More at The Hill at https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5157818-trump-janet-mills-maine-transgender-athletes/
McMahon’s Title IX Comments Cause Confusion, Concerns
Statements from the education secretary nominee during her confirmation hearing conflicted with Trump’s 2020 Title IX policies.
February 20, 2025
"The Biden administration attempted to change those provisions in its 2024 rewrite of Title IX, which also protected students from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy status and allowed colleges to conduct investigations without a live cross-examination. The rule was finalized in April 2024 and then vacated in January shortly before Biden left office."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/02/20/mcmahons-title-ix-comments-cause-confusion-concerns
Who Is Kimberly Richey, the Nominee to Lead OCR?
The appointee for assistant secretary of the Office for Civil Rights most recently worked as an education official in Florida, but she has federal government experience and a history of working with conservative think tanks.
February 19, 2025
"Richey has spoken critically about the protections for transgender students included in former president Joe Biden’s short-lived Title IX rules. On a webinar with the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization, she criticized the regulations for allowing trans students to use locker rooms and bathrooms that align with their gender identity."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/02/19/who-trumps-ocr-nominee-kimberly-richey
Following Trump EOs, Naval Academy Prohibits Class Materials
February 19, 2025
"A Jan. 27 executive order titled “Restoring America's Fighting Force” said educational institutions operated or controlled by the Defense Department and military 'are prohibited from promoting, advancing or otherwise inculcating the following un-American, divisive, discriminatory, radical, extremist and irrational theories.' It then went on to list 'gender ideology,' 'divisive concepts,' 'race or sex stereotyping,' 'race or sex scapegoating' and the idea 'that America's founding documents are racist or sexist.'”
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/02/19/following-trump-eos-naval-academy-prohibits-class-materials
What College Leaders Are Saying About Trump’s Directive on Race and DEI
February 19, 2025
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/what-college-leaders-are-saying-about-trumps-directive-on-race-and-dei
Trump’s Agenda to Hurt Higher Education
His first month was a nightmare for the sector. Here’s what he’s planning next.
February 18, 2025
"In December, Max Eden of the conservative American Enterprise Institute published a plan titled 'A Comprehensive Guide to Overhauling Higher Education.' Eden, a Yale University graduate, works as a kind of roving culture warrior. In 2019, The Huffington Post published an in-depth story about how he bumbled into a community torn apart by school gun violence and made everything worse. In 2021, he was on X, randomly accusing a public-school gender-identity presentation of 'grooming' and pedophilia. What Stephen Miller is to immigration, Eden is to education.
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/trumps-agenda-to-hurt-higher-education
Ed. Dept.’s Broad DEI Warning Puts College Leaders in ‘Enormously Complicated Situation’
February 18, 2025
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/ed-dept-s-broad-dei-warning-puts-college-leaders-in-enormously-complicated-situation
and:
Race on Campus atThe Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/newsletter/race-on-campus/2025-02-18
Hitting Pause on the ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter
The Department of Education is overstepping its bounds and infringing on constitutional rights.
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/hitting-pause-on-the-dear-colleague-letter
Tracking Key Lawsuits Against the Trump Administration
Higher education groups are suing the federal government to block executive orders and policy changes. Here’s the latest on the legal challenges.
February 18, 2025
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/02/18/trump-administration-faces-growing-number-lawsuits
12 Trump moves in 4 weeks: What college leaders need to know
The new administration has implemented several policies that have sparked outcry from university researchers and student advcocates.
February 18, 2025
"New directives took aim at Biden-era efforts to increase educational access for underrepresented students and strengthen LGBTQ+ protections."
More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/trump-higher-ed-first-four-weeks/740097/
After Sweeping Anti-DEI Guidance, What Should Colleges Do?
The Education Department issued a surprise letter over the weekend vastly expanding the scope of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ban. As the dust settles, institutions must decide how to respond—and whether to fight back.
February 18, 2025
See Inside Higher Ed at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/diversity/race-ethnicity/2025/02/18/after-trumps-diversity-threats-what-should-colleges-do
See also:
Ed Department: DEI Violates Civil Rights Law
In a sweeping and unprecedented letter issued over the weekend, the Office for Civil Rights declared race-based scholarships, cultural centers and even graduation ceremonies illegal.
February 15, 2025
See Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/diversity/race-ethnicity/2025/02/15/trump-admin-threatens-rescind-federal-funds-over-dei
In Sweeping Letter, Ed. Dept. Says SCOTUS Ruling Applies to All Race-Conscious Programs
February 16, 2025
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/in-sweeping-letter-ed-dept-says-scotus-ruling-applies-to-all-race-conscious-programs
The latest roundup of DEI cuts across the country
From liberal arts colleges to massive public flagships, institutions of all kinds are moving to comply with changing federal expectations.
February 12, 2025
at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/roundup-dei-cuts-across-the-county/739866/
Tracking Higher Ed’s Dismantling of DEI
February 14, 2025
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/tracking-higher-eds-dismantling-of-dei
Unwinding DEI: Part II
Nicholas Confessore’s New York Times Magazine article on the U. of Michigan’s DEI program galvanized debate and fueled criticism. How does he feel about that?
February 11, 2025
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/podcast/college-matters-from-the-chronicle/unwinding-dei-part-ii
Naval Academy faculty told to avoid ‘divisive concepts’ like ‘systemic racism’
February 14, 2025
"Colleges across the country are making policy changes to comply with the Trump administration’s executive order. Rutgers University canceled an HBCU-centered event, and the University of North Carolina system no longer requires students to take general-education courses related to DEI. Meanwhile, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point disbanded roughly a dozen identity-based clubs to abide by the executive order, including the Society of Black Engineers at West Point and the pro-LGBTQ club, Spectrum."
More at The Baltimore Banner at www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/higher-education/naval-academy-racism-sexism-faculty-NR7NUMXN3RBRVG7EXQHR35TCWQ/
Trump’s DEI crackdown ‘could block US-UK research collaborations’
‘No academic friend of mine is not deeply worried about this,’ says scholar
February 14, 2025
"It was not clear whether UKRI’s stance on diversity could endanger some of its joint US-UK projects, although its equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policy calls on staff to 'identify opportunities to promote inclusion across their areas of work' – a potential red flag under the Trump directives. The funder adds that it 'recognise[s] all gender identities and sexualities' and that 'gender is a spectrum', again a position that might run contrary to new White House directives."
More at Times Higher Education at www.timeshighereducation.com/news/trumps-dei-crackdown-could-block-us-uk-research-collaborations
“We’ve Been Essentially Muzzled”: Department of Education Halts Thousands of Civil Rights Investigations Under Trump
Since Inauguration Day, the Office for Civil Rights has only opened about 20 investigations focused on Trump’s priorities, placing more than 10,000 student complaints related to disability access and sexual and racial harassment on hold.
February 13, 2025
"At the same time, there’s been a dramatic drop in the number of new cases opened by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights — and the few that attorneys have been directed to investigate reflect some of Trump’s priorities: getting rid of gender-neutral bathrooms, banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports and alleged antisemitism or discrimination against white students."
More at ProPublica at https://www.propublica.org/article/department-of-education-civil-rights-office-investigations
5 Key Takeaways From McMahon’s Hearing for Ed Secretary
In the nearly three-hour hearing, Linda McMahon committed to the Trump agenda but provided little detail as far as how she’d execute it.
February 13, 2025
"On Thursday she made it clear that she’s in lockstep with the president, saying in her opening remarks that 'Trump has shared his vision and I’m ready to enact it.' She failed to provide much detail beyond that."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/02/13/mcmahon-confirms-trumps-plans-dismantle-department-ed
See also:
3 takeaways from Linda McMahon’s confirmation hearing
Trump’s nominee to lead the Education Department faced questions about the agency’s future, Title IX enforcement and antisemitism on college campuses.
February 14, 2025
at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/linda-mcmahon-education-secretary-confirmation-hearing/740147/
Here’s What Linda McMahon, Nominee for Education Secretary, Had to Say About Higher Ed
February 13, 2025
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/heres-what-linda-mcmahon-nominee-for-education-secretary-had-to-say-about-higher-ed
Bill would require private colleges to close DEI offices to keep state tuition grants
February 12, 2024
at Iowa Capital Dispatch at https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2025/02/12/bill-would-require-private-colleges-to-close-dei-offices-to-keep-state-tuition-grants/
Trump Taps Biden Critic Nicholas Kent as Under Secretary
The president nominated a former lobbyist for career colleges to serve as education under secretary—the nation’s top official on policies affecting colleges and universities.
February 11, 2025
"If confirmed by the Senate, Richey will play a key role in the Trump administration’s crackdown on transgender athletes. In the last few weeks, Trump has banned transgender athletes from women’s sports, and the Office for Civil Rights has opened up several investigations related to that policy change."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/02/11/trump-appoints-biden-critic-nicholas-kent-under
A University System Ends Diversity-Related Gen-Ed Requirements, Citing Trump Order
February 7, 2025
"Three states have proposed legislation this year to bar some or all public colleges from requiring courses that teach certain concepts, such as systemic racism and racial and gender diversity. The bill in Texas would go the furthest, restricting institutions from offering any programs or courses in LGBTQ or DEI studies."
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/a-university-system-ends-diversity-related-gen-ed-requirements-citing-trump-order
Education Department opens Title IX probes following anti-trans order
The agency said it is investigating San José State University, the University of Pennsylvania and a middle and high school athletics association.
February 6, 2025
"The U.S. Department of Education opened Title IX investigations Thursday into two universities and a middle and high school athletics association that it says have allowed transgender women and girls to participate on teams corresponding with their gender identity."
More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/education-department-title-ix-investigations-universities-transgender-athletes/739496/
See also:
Investigations Over Trans Athletes at SJSU, UPenn
February 7, 2025
at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/02/07/ed-department-investigates-sjsu-upenn-over-trans-athletes
As the DEI Crackdown Escalates, Faculty Choose Between Silence and Resistance
While one professor says faculty are “pre-emptively censoring themselves” in response, others are defiant—while another is asking himself, “What would I be willing to lose my job for?”
February 6, 2025
"That was Week One. Week Two began with news of a DEI-related funding freeze whose scope was simultaneously sweeping and confusing. A White House Office of Management and Budget memo told federal agencies to pause grants or loans. The office said it was trying to stop funding activities that 'may be implicated by the executive orders,' including DEI and 'woke gender ideology.'”
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/diversity-equity/2025/02/06/trump-attacks-dei-faculty-pick-between-silence
A Left, Not Libertarian, Defense of Free Speech
Joseph J. Fischel and Kyler Chittick argue that the academic left has ceded too much of the moral high ground when it comes to free speech.
February 6, 2025
"Granted, some of these grounds for defending speech tilt more liberal or libertarian than pure left, whatever that means, but we nonetheless maintain that it is self-defeating for us to carry the banner for 'academic freedom' while consigning 'free speech' to the province of white grievance. This is especially true for those of us teaching queer and critical sexuality studies, where classrooms and related spaces of activism and dialogue are increasingly circumscribed, the harm principle ever more unprincipled. Consider the case of Aneil Rallin, who in 2022 was accused by Soka University of America of teaching 'triggering' sexual materials to his students in a course called Writing the Body, and whose case—while taken up by FIRE—was met with little alarm from the academic left."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2025/02/06/left-should-reclaim-free-speech-mantle-opinion
Texas lawmakers may ban certain lessons at state colleges under expanded DEI crackdown
Legislators are expected to take up a $360 million proposal that would change the landscape of financial aid in the state.
February 6, 2025
"In fact, on Monday, Harrison filed another piece of legislation that would prohibit universities from offering certificates, degrees or courses in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer studies or DEI. Employees found to be teaching these subjects could be fired and have their name added to a do-not-hire list."
More at The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org/2025/02/06/texas-higher-education-legislation/
Trump Signs Executive Order Banning Trans Participation in Women’s Sports
The order says the United States will oppose “male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
February 5, 2025
"President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday banning transgender women from participating in women’s sports."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/02/05/trump-signs-order-banning-trans-athletes-womens
See also:
Trump signs executive order barring transgender students from women’s sports
During the signing ceremony, the president warned colleges and K-12 schools that they could lose federal funding if they don’t comply.
February 5, 2025
at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/trump-signs-executive-order-barring-transgender-students/739377/
Trump Administration Live Updates: Executive Order Bars Transgender Students From Female Teams
February 5, 2025
at The New York Times at www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02/05/us/trump-news
After Trump’s Order, the NCAA Bars Transgender Women From Competing in Women’s Sports
February 6, 2025
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/after-trumps-order-the-ncaa-bars-transgender-women-from-competing-in-womens-sports
‘It’s Creating Chaos’: College Presidents Weigh Responses to Trump’s Upheavals
February 5, 2025
"On Thursday, the emails filling Pescovitz’s inbox showed the pressures she and other leaders are under. They included pleas from students asking her to protect them from anti-trans, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-immigrant executive orders."
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/its-creating-chaos-college-presidents-weigh-responses-to-trumps-upheavals
Education Department Removes Nonbinary Gender Option on FAFSA
February 5, 2025
"The U.S. Education Department is eliminating the nonbinary gender identity option from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, according to a Tuesday news release. The option will not appear on future forms and will be removed from the current form effective immediately, and the question formerly about gender identity will now refer to applicants’ sex."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/02/05/education-department-cuts-nonbinary-option-fafsa
As NIH Grant Reviews Resume, NSF Hunts for Flagged Terms
February 5, 2025
“However, orders banning communication, including public speaking, remain in effect at the agency, though they were originally set to lift Feb. 2. In addition, advisory committees that meet to finalize grants will do so in secret and the NIH is still in the process of reviewing programs that could violate Trump’s executive orders banning funding for programs supporting DEI and 'gender ideology.'”
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/02/05/nsf-hunts-female-other-flagged-terms
‘In the United States, there is no king’: AAUP sues Trump over attacks on DEI
The lawsuit alleges that President Donald Trump’s orders overstep his authority, use overly vague language and intend to chill speech he opposes.
February 4, 2025
at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/aaup-NADOHE-lawsuit-trump-dei-attacks-there-is-no-king/739242/
See also:
‘Enough’: Campus Diversity Advocates Sue Over Trump’s Anti-DEI Orders
February 4, 2025
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/enough-campus-diversity-advocates-sue-over-trumps-anti-dei-orders
Higher Ed Fights Back Against Trump’s DEI Order
The American Association of University Professors and others argue in a new lawsuit that the executive orders violate the Constitution.
February 5, 2025
at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/2025/02/05/higher-ed-organizations-sue-against-trumps-dei-orders
Higher Ed Is Trapped in Trump’s Chaos
Here’s how the sector can find its footing.
February 4, 2025
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/higher-ed-is-trapped-in-trumps-chaos
'Act of intimidation': Education Dept. suspends officials following Trump's DEI order
The union for federal employees said at least 60 staffers were affected by a decision to suspend Education Department officials.
February 3, 2025
"The actions come as the Education Department says it has canceled millions of dollars in contracts related to DEI training and services and removed more than 200 web pages that previously housed DEI resources for schools and colleges. Informational resources for LGBTQ+ students, universities with the largest amounts of Hispanic students and tribal colleges have gone dark in recent weeks."
More at USA Today at www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2025/02/02/trump-education-department-dei/78159366007/
Hegseth bars ‘race-based’ admissions goals, DEI curriculum at military academies
The three colleges under the U.S. Department of Defense are also banned from teaching “gender ideology,” as defined by recent executive orders.
February 3, 2025
"The order labeled these ideas as part of 'gender ideology,' a term anti-hate advocacy organizations say is frequently used by anti-LGBTQ+ groups. The order also called these notions incompatible with its definition of biological sex — an immutable binary based on an individual’s reproductive cells — which diverges from guidance issued by the American Medical Association."
More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/hegseth-bars-race-based-admissions-dei-curriculum-military-academies-west-point-naval-air-force/739072/
Trump Orders Disrupt Academic Research
As the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation review grants and programming for verboten topics—including DEI and “gender ideology”—many researchers aren’t sure if their projects will pass Trump’s nebulous, ideological tests.
February 3, 2025
"The orders, which researchers say are vague, ban funding for diversity, equity and inclusion; 'gender ideology'; and green energy projects, among other issues."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/science-research-policy/2025/02/03/how-trumps-executive-orders-are-disrupting
Education Department will enforce 2020 Title IX rule
A letter to colleges and K-12 schools says sex discrimination enforcement activities will only recognize two sexes — male and female.
January 31, 2025
"Trainor said the change is based on a federal judge’s decision in early January that struck down the 2024 rule as unconstitutional across the country. That Biden administration rule for the first time extended Title IX civil rights protections to LGBTQI+ students and employees at federally funded schools and colleges — including by prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation."
More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/schools-enforcement-2020-title-ix-rule-sex-discrimination-LGBTQ/738965/
See also:
Department of Education Reverts to Trump’s Title IX Rule
Advocates for victims of sexual violence said the decision would put students at greater risk of harassment while conservative lawmakers and advocates applauded the move, arguing it would make students safer.
February 03, 2025
at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/02/03/department-education-reverts-trumps-title-ix-rule
Trump administration revokes Biden rules on sex discrimination in education
Schools and universities must revert to Title IX guidance on sexual misconduct complaints from first Trump term
January 31, 2025
at The Guardian at www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/31/trump-title-ix-discrimination
4 Years Later, Trump’s Title IX Rule Is Back. It’s Whiplash for Colleges.
January 31, 2025
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/4-years-later-trumps-title-ix-rule-is-back-its-whiplash-for-colleges
Department of Education undoes Biden’s Title IX rules on gender
January 31, 2025
at The Hill at https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5118925-trump-biden-title-ix-education-gender-lgbtq/
Education Dept. Tells Schools to Change Sexual Misconduct Rules
The guidance bolsters the rights of students accused of sexual misconduct and scraps Biden-era rules extending protections to L.G.B.T.Q. students.
January 31, 2025
at The New York Times at www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/us/politics/education-dept-title-ix-sexual-misconduct.html
US colleges returning to campus sexual assault rules created during Trump’s first term
January 31, 2025
at Ap at https://apnews.com/article/title-ix-trump-lgbtq-sex-assault-b7b6ad1cbe28331ce38ef896e6d4fd2b
10 Days In: What Actions Has Trump Taken?
In two short weeks, the president has deconstructed DEI, attacked gender identities, cracked down on immigration and tried to freeze federal funds. But what does it mean for higher ed?
January 31, 2025
"DEI, LGBTQ+ and pro-Palestinian advocates, along with free speech and academic freedom groups, are pushing back against the order, and some are even encouraging colleges and universities not to comply unless pressured to do so."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/2025/01/31/trump-tackles-higher-ed-during-his-first-10-days-office
See also:
Trump's mission: Discrimination and destruction
Trump is not governing. He is destroying. And the response to it must be up to the destruction Trump is causing.
January 30, 2025
"When you look at Trump’s acts in his first 10 days back in office, a substantial part of his time back as president has been spent rolling back or ignoring civil rights policies or advancing new policies that turn civil rights protections upside down."
More at LawDork at www.lawdork.com/p/trump-mission-discrimination-destruction
Michigan Republicans propose bathroom, sports restrictions for transgender students
January 31, 2025
"Transgender students in Michigan would be forbidden from shared restrooms used by the 'opposite biological sex' under a new bill from House Republicans."
More at MLive at www.mlive.com/politics/2025/01/michigan-republicans-propose-bathroom-sports-restrictions-for-transgender-students.html
Florida Board Approves Extensive Gen Ed Overhaul
The Florida Board of Governors voted to remove hundreds of classes, many touching on race and gender, from general education offerings at all 12 state universities.
January 31, 2025
"Now, American History 583: The Seminoles and the Southeastern Indians is one of hundreds of courses across Florida’s public universities that will no longer count toward general education credit as part of the extensive overhaul. Neither will Black Women in America or LGBTQ History, both of which were previously included as general education offerings at FSU. Those are just three of numerous courses touching in some way on race, gender or sexuality that institutional boards voted in recent months to drop from general education. All 12 Boards of Trustees then submitted a pared-down list of classes to FLBOG for approval. Three Bible courses remain eligible for general education credit at FSU."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/governance/trustees-regents/2025/01/31/florida-board-approves-extensive-gen-ed-overhaul
See also:
Florida University System Approves a New Gen-Ed Curriculum After Law Restricted ‘Exploratory’ Content
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/floridas-universities-approve-a-new-gen-ed-curriculum-after-law-restricted-exploratory-content
January 30, 2025
The Curricular Cull
Inside a sweeping attempt to regulate general education in Florida.
January 29, 2025
“In an email, Edwards, the university system’s spokesperson, said that 'the common understanding of identity politics is that it combines a focus on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and any other number of identitarian categories with a politics of victimization. The cornerstone of the Identitarian worldview is the claim that America, contrary to its egalitarian professions of faith, is at its core a supremacist regime that oppresses certain groups.'”
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/the-curricular-cull
DEI is secret sauce of University of Michigan's success | Opinion
January 31, 2025
"What’s more, Michigan Psychology is on the leading edge of diversity science (an interdisciplinary field that uses rigorous methods to investigate causes, consequences and complexities of human difference). No other psychology program can boast as many experts in the scientific study of race, gender, sexuality and culture. For these achievements, we can thank 30 years of faculty hiring that prioritized two things: diversity and excellence."
More at Detroit Free Press at www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2025/01/31/dei-university-of-michigan-ann-arbor/77978940007/
A Sweeping Effort to Reshape Ohio’s Colleges Has Stalled for Years. Now It’s Back, and Even Broader.
January 29, 2025
“Institutions would also be banned from contracting with third-party consultants for hiring processes 'whose role is or would be to promote admissions, hiring, or promotion on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.'”
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/a-sweeping-effort-to-reshape-ohios-colleges-has-stalled-for-years-now-its-back-and-even-broader
NSF Cancels Grant Reviews to ‘Ensure Compliance’ With Trump’s Executive Orders
Scheduled review panels for National Science Foundation grant applications are on pause until Feb. 1. Some researchers believe the pause may be connected to the new administration’s anti-DEI crusade.
January 28, 2025
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/science-research-policy/2025/01/28/nsf-cancels-grant-reviews-comply-trump-eos
Biden Camp Defends Its Record
James Kvaal, who served as undersecretary of education, reflects on a the Biden’s biggest swings and misses.
January 28, 2025
"James Kvaal Yeah. I mean, I think one of the hallmarks of higher education is that it’s open to everyone and that all students should have the same opportunity to learn and to take advantage of the campus environment. And, you know, I’m proud of the steps that the Biden administration has taken to defend students’ civil rights."
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/podcast/college-matters-from-the-chronicle/biden-camp-defends-its-record
Little-Known Network of Higher Ed Institutes Has Roots in Anti–Gay Marriage Fight and Opus Dei
The Foundation for Excellence in Higher Education supports programs based at or near 14 elite universities. It’s headquartered at a conservative think tank and funded generously by right-leaning donors. But what are its aims?
January 27, 2025
"In the report, the institute identified same-sex marriage as a threat and urged legislation to oppose it. Republican senator Sam Brownback cited it in Congress as he argued for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/01/27/fehe-network-has-roots-anti-gay-marriage-fight-opus
College Leaders Galvanize to Fight the Anti-DEI ‘Chaos’
Education for All, a grassroots network of mostly community college leaders, is spreading strategies for how to resist anti-DEI bills and rhetoric.
January 27, 2025
"The group also developed tools to prepare institutions for possible federal policy actions related to DEI—as well as undocumented students, international students and LGBTQ+ issues—which turned out to be a prescient move in light of Trump’s anti-DEI executive order."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/state-policy/2025/01/27/grassroots-college-leader-group-resists-anti-dei
Confusion Follows Trump Order on Sex and Gender
The executive order could eventually change how the federal government enforces Title IX and other laws, though there’s no immediate impact on colleges.
January 24, 2025
"In an executive order, which is part of a broader effort to restrict the rights of transgender people, Trump declared that there are only two sexes and banned the federal funding of 'gender ideology.' His supporters hailed the move as a return to common sense, while LGBTQ+ advocates saw it as an attack seeking to erase the existence of trans people."
More at Inside Higher Ed at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/01/24/trumps-sex-and-gender-order-could-create-risk
Trump Takes Aim at DEI in Higher Ed
The executive order doesn’t have an immediate impact on DEI programs at colleges and universities, but experts worry about a chilling effect.
January 23, 2025
"That’s in part because the order designates any institution that receives federal financial aid as a subcontractor. As subcontractors, colleges’ employment, procurement and contracting practices 'shall not consider race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin in ways that violate the nation’s civil rights laws,' according to the order."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/01/23/how-trumps-order-targeting-dei-could-affect-higher-ed
See also:
Trump signs executive order targeting DEI policies at colleges
The directive escalates the crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion programs on campuses to the federal policy level.
January 23, 2025
at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/trump-executive-order-diversity-equity-inclusion-colleges/738052/
How Trump’s Day 1 actions could affect higher education
New directives took aim at Biden-era efforts to increase educational access for underrepresented students and strengthen LGBTQ+ protections.
January 22, 2025
"Newly sworn-in President Donald Trump signed several executive orders Monday taking aim at Biden-era efforts to provide protections for LGBTQ+ students and increase educational access for Hispanic, Native American and Black students."
More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/trump-day-1-executive-orders-higher-education/737915/
See also:
President Trump’s Early Actions Undo Biden Efforts to Protect LGBTQ+ Students
January 20, 2025
at Education Week at www.edweek.org/policy-politics/president-trumps-early-actions-undo-biden-efforts-to-protect-lgbtq-students/2025/01
Trump Has Issued a Blitz of Executive Orders. Some Could Affect Higher Ed.
January 21, 2025
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/trump-has-issued-a-blitz-of-executive-orders-some-could-affect-higher-ed
Trump curtails protections around diversity, LGBTQ rights
January 20, 2025
at Reuters at www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-sign-orders-ending-diversity-programs-proclaiming-there-are-only-two-sexes-2025-01-20/
Toward a Democratic Academic Freedom
Understanding academic freedom as a collective faculty responsibility provides a basis for protecting academic rights, Will Clark writes.
January 22, 2025
"Even before the election, faculty have been censored and fired for speech undesired by legislators, donors or other actors. Union organizing, critical race theory, LGBTQ studies and Palestine are just some of the bogeymen justifying punishment. In many instances, the speech of those targeted extends from disciplinary practices that academic freedom nominally protects. Without coupling academic freedoms to our democratic role in governance and our collective responsibilities as academic workers with rights, targeted silencing will expand."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2025/01/22/toward-democratic-academic-freedom-opinion
What DEI Professionals in Red States Are Thinking
Kaleb L. Briscoe spoke with Inside Higher Ed about the effects of bans on DEI staff members and how they’re navigating this politically volatile time.
January 21, 2025
"Texas legislators, for example, when they wrote SB 17, they weren’t thinking about women’s centers, LGBTQ+ centers. They were specifically talking about DEI offices … but that’s what happened, because institutions overcomplied. And I’m giving Texas as the example, but that happened in Louisiana, that’s happening in Georgia, it’s happening in Idaho, happening in Nebraska, where literally administrators are saying, 'Let’s get ahead of this.' And [staying] ahead used to be renaming, reclassifying, but … that wasn’t enough to satisfy legislators. So, they then decided to officially and unofficially dismiss and demote staff members."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/diversity/race-ethnicity/2025/01/21/qa-experiences-dei-professionals-under-dei-bans
What Higher Ed Can Expect as Trump Takes Office
Trump has promised to crack down on DEI programs, fire accreditors and abolish the Education Department.
January 20, 2025
"During the campaign, Trump said he plans to abolish the Education Department, ban the participation of trans athletes in women’s sports, 'fire' accreditors and cut funding for scientific research. He has also discussed expanding short-term financial aid offerings, making student unionization more difficult, protecting conservatives’ speech on campuses, disallowing college vaccine mandates and creating a free online national college funded by new taxes on wealthy private universities."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/01/20/now-office-how-trump-could-overhaul-higher-ed
Trans Allyship in Academia Today
What it means to be an ally has changed, Chelsea Thompto writes.
January 17, 2025
"In the wake of the election, during which hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on anti-trans ads and in which one party chose to vilify trans people as a central part of its message, transgender and nonbinary students, faculty and staff have been left to process what their futures will look like in a less welcoming and more politicized world."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/opinion/career-advice/diversity/2025/01/17/how-be-trans-ally-academia-today-opinion
Biden leaves ‘complicated legacy’ on higher education
Mixed results of final few weeks in White House likely emblematic of Democrat’s presidency, scholars say
January 17, 2025
"And Biden also lost votes in the 2024 election by his attempts to expand Title IX protections against sexual discrimination to gay, lesbian and transgender students, according to Thelin, particularly among suburban 'middle-class, middle-of-the-road' Americans."
More at Times Higher Education at www.timeshighereducation.com/news/biden-leaves-complicated-legacy-higher-education
SMU Wants to Separate From the Church but Keep the ‘Methodist’
The Texas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in an ongoing legal saga between the United Methodist Church and Southern Methodist University over who governs the university.
January 15, 2025
"The controversy centers around who maintains control over the university—its Board of Trustees or the church—after the university tried to distance itself in 2019. The move came at a time when the church strengthened restrictive policies toward LGBTQ+ ordinations and marriages, exacerbating ideological fault lines within the denomination. SMU president R. Gerald Turner said at the time that the church decision would have no bearing on the university as 'a separate corporate entity governed by the SMU Board of Trustees' and the university would continue to follow its nondiscrimination statement, which includes 'sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.'”
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/institutions/religious-colleges/2025/01/15/methodist-church-suit-against-smu-reaches-texas
See also:
Southern Methodist University Wants to Sever Ties to Its Church. Can the Church Stop It?
The dispute, which some critics say tests the church’s autonomy, reached the Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday for arguments.
January 15, 2025
at The New York Times at www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/us/southern-methodist-university-church.html
Yeshiva U President to Participate in Trump’s Inauguration
January 15, 2025
"But Yeshiva administrators also clashed with an LGBTQ student group, which it refused to recognize, prompting a lawsuit. In fall 2022, the university suspended all student groups in an effort to avoid recognizing the LGBTQ club after Yeshiva was dealt a legal setback."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/01/15/yeshiva-u-president-participate-trumps-inauguration
Anti-DEI Law Is Discriminatory, Violation of Free Speech, NAACP Alleges in Federal Court
January 14, 2025
"The law, which took effect October 1, also restricts the teaching of so-called divisive concepts related to race, sex, religion, and other personal identities. In addition, it requires public colleges to designate restrooms on the basis of biological sex."
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/anti-dei-law-is-discriminatory-violation-of-free-speech-naacp-alleges-in-federal-court
See also:
Lawsuit by college professors and students challenges Alabama’s anti-DEI law
January 14, 2024
at AP at https://apnews.com/article/alabama-dei-college-lawsuit-b4ae1b83843a5eae5db1be2dc2dd1ea1
This Proposed Law Would Push Transgender Athletes Out of Women’s Sports in One Fell Swoop
January 14, 2025
"Congressional Republicans have reintroduced legislation that would amend the gender-equity law known as Title IX to explicitly prohibit transgender girls and women from playing on school and college sports teams that align with their gender identity."
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/this-proposed-law-would-push-transgender-athletes-out-of-womens-sports-in-one-fell-swoop
See also:
GOP-led House passes bill to ban trans students from girls' sports
The vote came days after SCOTUS took up an appeal in a challenge to ACA-required coverage of an HIV prevention drug. And, for paid subscribers: Closing my tabs.
January 14, 2025
at LawDork at www.lawdork.com/p/gop-led-house-passes-bill-to-ban
House passes bill to restrict transgender students’ participation in women’s sports
The Senate has introduced companion legislation, though the proposal may have a tough time overcoming the chamber’s filibuster rule.
January 14, 2025
at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/house-passes-bill-transgender-students-sports/737361/
House Advances Ban on Trans Women in Women’s Sports
The bill, which would forbid “a person whose sex is male” from playing on women’s sports teams, echoes legislation already in place in 26 states.
January 15, 2025
at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/students/athletics/2025/01/15/ban-trans-women-womens-sports-passes-house
No, Colleges Haven’t Rushed Back to Requiring Standardized Tests
It’s one of four things revealed in federal data about admissions for the fall of 2023.
January 10, 2025
"A first look at where nonbinary students applied
"Starting in 2022-23, institutions were able to report the number of students who do not identify as male or female, though not all colleges have done so."
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/no-colleges-havent-rushed-back-to-requiring-standardized-tests
Federal judge strikes down Biden administration’s Title IX rule nationwide
The ruling vacates regulations that had enshrined protections for the first time for LGBTQI+ students and employees.
Updated January 10, 2025
"The rule, released last April, offered protections for the first time for LGBTQI+ students and employees at federally funded schools and colleges, including by prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. But the rule quickly drew legal challenges. Courts blocked the regulations in at least 26 states before Thursday’s decision vacated the rule altogether."
More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/federal-judge-strikes-down-biden-administrations-title-ix-rule-nationwide/736975/
See also:
What’s Next for Colleges After Judge Vacates Biden’s Title IX Rule
Republican state officials are celebrating the order as a “massive win,” but uncertainty looms for colleges as they respond to yet another Title IX change.
January 9, 2025
at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/student-aid-policy/2025/01/09/federal-judge-throws-out-bidens-title-ix-overhaul
Biden’s Title IX Rule Is Now Blocked Nationwide. Here’s What That Means.
January 9, 2025
at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/bidens-title-ix-rule-is-now-blocked-nationwide-heres-what-that-means
Judge scraps Biden’s Title IX rules, reversing expansion of protections for LGBTQ+ students
January 9, 2025
at AP at https://apnews.com/article/title-ix-lgbtq-transgender-biden-605ed79a22633f4c791058994d8ed5de
Trump wants to change colleges nationwide. GOP-led states like Idaho offer a preview
January 9, 2025
"The effects of the anti-DEI law rippled through campuses including the University of Alabama and Auburn University, the state’s two largest four-year colleges. DEI offices and designated areas for LGBTQ+ and Black students closed when classes started in late August — just before the law took effect."
More at Idaho Education News at www.idahoednews.org/top-news/trump-wants-to-change-colleges-nationwide-gop-led-states-like-idaho-offer-a-preview/
Biden Leaves Behind a Graveyard of Higher Ed Policies
An Inside Higher Ed analysis found that of nearly 40 higher ed policy topics on the Biden administration’s rule-making agenda, 42 percent have taken effect. But that’s still more than the first Trump term.
January 9, 2025
"Nearly four years ago, President Biden took office with ambitious plans to relieve millions of borrowers from student debt, protect trans students from discrimination and crack down on for-profit institutions. Getting that done required the president to use executive power to issue new rules and regulations and rewrite those put in place by the Trump administration."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/2025/01/09/bidens-use-executive-power-creates-mixed-results
Private-College Presidents Brace for a Year of ‘Conflict’
January 8, 2025
Among the list of possible executive, regulatory, or legislative actions are efforts to ban DEI on campus, restrictions on international students, bills or new rules to bar transgender athletes in intercollegiate athletics, steep increases in the endowment tax, and cuts to federal work-study programs, Barbara K. Mistick, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, told the attendees during a session on Tuesday morning.
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/private-college-presidents-brace-for-a-year-of-conflict
Title IX Is a Political Football. Enough.
We shouldn’t let our rights be up for debate anymore, Erin O’Callaghan and Anne Kirkner write.
January 8, 2025
As if these problems were not enough, the Biden Title IX rules are currently not being implemented at universities in 26 U.S. states due to Republican pushback and legal action against protections for trans students—particularly trans women in sports. As such, Title IX is now being enforced on a piecemeal level; trans students and employees are legally protected in some states and not others. Even though much of the resistance to anti-trans legislation has been focused (rightly so) on the Republican camp, Democrats deserve some of this ire for not having put up any meaningful challenge to anti-trans rhetoric or legislation.
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2025/01/08/we-cant-depend-title-ix-protect-our-rights-opinion
House Republicans prioritize bill to restrict transgender students’ sports participation
Lawmakers reintroduced a proposal that would prevent transgender women from competing on college sports teams aligning with their gender identity.
January 6, 2025
"House Republicans signaled last week that one of their top legislative priorities will be passing a bill that would restrict transgender students’ participation in sports."
More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/house-republications-bill-limit-transgender-women-sports/736603/
7 Players Seek to Leave SJSU Volleyball
January 6, 2025
"Seven members of the San José State University women’s volleyball team, which was embroiled in controversy this year over a member of the team who is allegedly transgender, have entered the transfer portal, the San Francisco Chronicle reported."
More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/01/06/seven-players-seek-leave-sjsu-volleyball
Trans sprinter Sadie Schreiner says she’s being rejected in the NCAA transfer portal. ‘People are afraid to support me.’
Despite being eligible by the rules, schools show fear of putting a trans athlete like Sadie Schreiner on a team roster.
January 3, 2025
"On her instagram Monday she put up a video stating that her being a transgender woman was a definite factor in why she had no takers despite drawing interest and offers from coaches, including some at major conference 'Power 4' universities."
More at Outsports at www.outsports.com/2025/1/3/24105783/sadie-schreiner-trans-athlete-ncaa-college-transfer-portal-rit-track/
SMU’s bid to split from United Methodist Church over LGBTQ+ rights heads to Texas Supreme Court
Southern Methodist University in Dallas tried to declare its independence after the church voted to ban gay weddings and clergy in 2019.
January 2, 2025
"A multi-year fight over whether Southern Methodist University can separate itself from the United Methodist Church is heading to Texas’ highest court this month."
More at The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org/2025/01/02/texas-supreme-court-smu-united-methodist-church/
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