Afternoon Notes: Class Notes: Washington Reshuffles, and Illinois Librarians Win Their Jobs Back
This edition covers two education stories: the U.S. Department of Education has signed four new interagency agreements shifting special education to HHS and civil rights enforcement, student privacy,
Department of Education moves special education and civil rights enforcement to other agencies
The U.S. Department of Education said Monday it has signed four new interagency agreements with the Departments of Health and Human Services and the Justice Department, shifting day-to-day support for special education and civil rights enforcement to those agencies as part of the Trump administration’s broader drive to shrink the federal role in education.
The deals bring to 10 the number of such partnerships the department has signed over the past year. Under the new arrangements, HHS will work with the Education Department on special education and rehabilitative services, while the Justice Department will take on a shared role in civil rights enforcement, student privacy protection, and training and advisory services for schools.
Read more: https://theeducatorsroom.com/department-of-education-moves-special-education-and-civil-rights/
Arbitrator orders Western Illinois University to reinstate laid-off librarians
Western Illinois University laid off all its librarians last year and is now being forced to rehire them. An arbitrator has ruled that the university's 2024 decision to lay off all nine of its academic librarian faculty, along with two other bargaining-unit professionals, was illegal, a decision the University Professionals of Illinois (UPI) Local 4100 hailed as a major win for students, faculty, staff and public higher education in the state.
The ruling orders that the affected employees be made financially whole and restored to their positions if they choose to return. The two additional professionals whose layoffs were also found to breach the collective bargaining agreement are likewise entitled to reinstatement and back pay. The outcome affirms the union's long-held argument that the university violated its contract and gutted essential academic support services.
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