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At last week鈥檚 confirmation hearing, education secretary nominee Linda McMahon called teaching 鈥渙ne of the most noble professions that we have in our country鈥� and expressed support for workforce development programs.聽

But now the department she wants to lead has abruptly canceled more than $600 million in grants designed to prepare teachers, especially in high-need schools.

The cancellations include a $3.38 million grant to in Fairfield, Connecticut, where McMahon serves on the Board of Trustees. The funds supported a program focused on recruiting special education teachers and strengthening instruction in STEM subjects. 

The university was among 20 recent recipients of a Teacher Quality Partnership grant, a program that aimed to attract and prepare a more diverse educator workforce. In response to Biden administration priorities, several of the grantees targeted the funds 鈥� $70 million in 2024 鈥� toward recruiting and training future educators from underrepresented communities. But now those goals put organizations at odds with the Trump administration鈥檚 crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

鈥淲ithout warning all funds were swept, thus all employees on the grant were terminated without cause or warning,鈥� Erin Ramirez, an associate professor at California State University Monterey Bay, said in an email.

Ramirez said her university鈥檚 $5.7 million grant was 鈥渋llegally terminated.鈥� The funds were supporting an alternative teacher preparation program that aimed to draw 1,350 residents of the central California region into teaching in their local school districts. The revocation of funds, including $3.76 million in scholarships, will result in larger class sizes, higher teacher turnover and 鈥渆xacerbates existing workforce shortages and economic instability,鈥� according to a summary Ramirez provided. 

In letters sent to grantees last week, Mark Washington, the department鈥檚 deputy assistant secretary for management and planning, said the cancelled grants were 鈥渋nconsistent with, and no longer effectuates, department priorities鈥� and could 鈥渦nlawfully discriminate鈥� based on race or other characteristics. 

In a , the department cited some of the activities it found objectionable, such as workshops on 鈥渂uilding cultural competence鈥� and an emphasis on social justice activism. Grantees have until March 12 to challenge the department鈥檚 decision.

Also among the cancellations were Supporting Effective Educator Development grants, which sought to train more highly effective educators. TNTP, a nonprofit that aimed to prepare almost 750 teachers to work in the Austin, Baltimore and the Clark County school districts, and , which worked to address a teacher shortage in New Orleans schools, were among those affected.  

鈥淣ot only does it feel like chaos, it just feels disheartening,鈥� said Libby Bain, executive director of talent at New Schools for New Orleans, one of the organizations working on the grant. The funds supported nearly 300 high school students in nine schools who were earning credit toward an education major in college. Schools might have to cancel summer school, she added, because the grant also paid for the aspiring teachers to work as tutors to gain extra experience.

鈥淭hey’re going into a field that already feels hard to go into,鈥� Bain said. 鈥淣ow this thing that they were so excited about at 17 or 18 is being taken away.鈥�

Three-year grants were last and would have ended in September. The department is arguing that under , it has a right to terminate grants early if they are no longer in line with the administration鈥檚 goals. But some grantees say they plan to appeal, and Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs at the Bruman Group, a Washington law firm, added, 鈥淲e鈥檒l likely see some litigation.鈥�

鈥楾he next generation of teachers鈥�

Both grant programs help lower the cost of becoming a teacher through scholarships and stipends that help defray housing expenses, especially for teacher education students completing their training in higher-priced urban areas. The universities and nonprofits often focus on recruiting teachers for math, special education and other hard-to-fill subject areas. The grants also pay for research staff who evaluate which aspects of preparation programs, like having a mentor, are more likely to keep novice teachers in the field.

鈥淚 have a lot of concerns over what’s going to happen to aspiring teachers in areas where we already had local teaching shortages,鈥� said Kathlene Campbell, CEO of the National Center for Teacher Residencies, which had a $6.3 million grant that was cancelled. 

The center was working with 13 organizations, including several historically Black colleges and universities, in four states. Some students might not complete their program if they can鈥檛 cover tuition and fees on their own, Campbell said. She was still collecting data on how many staff members have lost their jobs because of the cuts. 

鈥淚f we lose the people who are preparing the next generation of teachers, as well as a significant portion of aspiring teachers, we could see a really big problem in a couple of years,鈥� she said.

Such programs seek to respond to multiple challenges in K-12 classrooms. Over 400,000 teaching positions last year were either unfilled or were staffed by someone without the proper credentials, according to the .  

The nation鈥檚 public schools also continue to grow more racially diverse. By 2030, Hispanic students are projected to make up a third of enrollment. Between 2012 and 2022, the percentage of white and Black students in the nation鈥檚 classrooms fell, while there was an increase in Asian students and those of two or more races. A diverse teacher workforce has been shown to have positive effects on students, including higher math and reading , regardless of students鈥� race. Black students matched with Black teachers are also more likely to and less likely to be identified for .

The education department鈥檚 move to pull funding for the programs came ahead of its Friday 鈥溾�� letter putting districts on notice that any efforts that could be perceived as encouraging DEI would not be tolerated. 

In the letter, Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, discouraged schools 鈥渇rom using race in decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.鈥� And he encouraged those who think any programs or activities violate laws against discrimination to file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights.

Campbell, with the teacher residency organization, said there鈥檚 a misunderstanding over how the programs view diversity.

鈥淚ndividuals who come from a different socioeconomic status are now able to become teachers when they didn’t think they could afford to do so,鈥� she said.

And Stephanie Cross, an assistant professor who was preparing teachers to work in Atlanta Public Schools, said her program didn鈥檛 discriminate against anyone who wanted to be in the program based on race.

The department鈥檚 DEI purge 鈥� in keeping with President Donald Trump鈥檚 inauguration day 鈥� explains why officials turned against the grant programs, but some observers also question whether they offered taxpayers a good return on their investment. Chad Aldeman, who conducts research on teacher workforce issues, said the Teacher Quality Partnership and the Supporting Effective Educator Development programs 鈥渁ren鈥檛 exactly screaming cost-effectiveness.鈥� One Teacher Quality Partnership grant for aimed to prepare 60 teachers and administrators in South Carolina. 

鈥淲ith this kind of money, the more effective route would probably be paying people directly,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y preference would be paying in-service teachers who demonstrate strong results and are serving in hard-to-staff roles, rather than focusing on the supply side.鈥�

But Bain, in New Orleans, said higher pay alone might get people into teaching, but won鈥檛 necessarily keep them there.

The cancellation of the grants also seems to contradict other signals from the new administration and Trump鈥檚 supporters in Congress. Trump nominated former Tennessee education chief Penny Schwinn, who has championed 鈥済row-your-own鈥� teacher preparation initiatives, to serve as deputy education secretary.

Tennessee was the first state to implement a teacher apprenticeship program registered with the Department of Labor. Forty-four states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have . At the time, the effort would 鈥渞emove barriers to becoming an educator for people from all backgrounds.鈥�

And during McMahon鈥檚 hearing last week, Sen Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, focused on getting more teachers in the classroom. 

鈥淲e need teachers,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need people in the classroom teaching these kids. Hold them accountable and put more money in the teachers and less money in administrators. I think we鈥檇 be a heck of a lot better off.鈥�

Disclosure: Chad Aldeman, who writes about school finance and teacher compensation, is a regular contributor to 社区黑料.

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