Today, the U.S. Department of Education cancelled over $350 million in contracts and grants to several Regional Educational Laboratories and Equity Assistance Centers.
The Department terminated 10 contracts totaling $336 million with the Regional Educational Laboratories, the purpose of which are supposed to support applied research, development, and technical assistance activities; however, review of the contracts uncovered wasteful and ideologically driven spending not in the interest of students and taxpayers. For example, the Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest has been advising schools in Ohio to undertake “equity audits” and equity conversations. The Department plans to enter into new contracts that will satisfy the statutory requirements, improve student learning, and better serve school districts, State Departments of Education, and other education stakeholders.
The Department also terminated grants to four Equity Assistance Centers totaling $33 million, which supported divisive training in DEI, Critical Race Theory, and gender identity for state and local education agencies as well as school boards.