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Monday, March 17, 2025

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Trump administration deports hundreds of immigrants, even as a judge orders removals be stopped; Sierra Club sues DOGE over mass firings; Lack of opportunity pushes rural Gen Zers in AZ out of their communities; Fixing one problem, creating another? Ohio's lead pipe replacements.

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Secretary of State Rubio pledges more arrests like that of student activist Mahmoud Khalil. Former EPA directors sound the alarm on Lee Zeldin's deregulation plans, and lack of opportunity is pushing rural Gen Zers out of their communities.

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Farmers worry promised federal reimbursements aren't coming while fears mount that the Trump administration's efforts to raise cash means the sale of public lands, and rural America's shortage of doctors has many physicians skipping retirement.

Educators sue to block Trump anti-DEI policy

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Tuesday, March 4, 2025   

The American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association are suing the Trump administration over a threat of funding cuts and investigations of schools that integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into their policies or lessons.

The letter schools received purports to reinforce anti-discrimination laws - but casts efforts to hire or help disadvantaged people of color as a form of discrimination.

Roderick Castro, assistant superintendent of educational services at Santa Rosa City Schools, noted that the letter criticizes using race as a factor in hiring and training.

"A letter like this is basically giving them the directive to abandon those," said Castro. "That cuts us off at the knees. We're looking for educators to be more representative of the students that are in the classrooms. It's a blow, more of a gut punch, to us."

The letter is critical of courses that involve certain racial groups. Castro said ethnic studies classes rightly lift up students' cultural heritage.

And he said he thinks teachers and students should be free to examine the facts about topics like slavery or civil rights.

Schools were given until last Friday to comply with the Trump administration's anti-DEI directive, and many colleges are pulling back, even reevaluating campus groups like the Black Student Union.

Chuck Flores, PhD, is an associate professor of educational administration at California State University-Los Angeles and UCLA - and teaches social justice and educational leadership at Cal State LA.

"We have to provide an open forum for all people of all races to discuss what it is that we need to achieve as a country," said Flores. "Eliminating DEI doesn't really go in that direction. I just feel that we're going down a dark hole we're not going to be able to pull out of, if people don't wake up and start taking a stand for what's right."

The letter from the Department of Education also says diversity and social justice are not valid reasons to take race or a proxy for race into account for admissions and financial aid.



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