Steph
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Steph
@seestephscience.bsky.social
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narst.bsky.social
In light of the recent cuts at the US Department of Education, NARST leadership has joined with leadership from 11 other organizations to write an open letter to US congressional leadership.

Please share widely, and contact your representatives (find out how: www.usa.gov/elected-offi...)
Letter to US Congressional Leadership, Re: Saving Federal Education Data, Statistics, and Research. *ALT TEXT HAS BEEN ABBREVIATED TO MEET CHARACTER LIMITS* [page 1 of 2] We write with an urgent request that you intervene through your oversight responsibilities in the Administration’s sudden, arbitrary termination of more than 1,300 employees across the U.S. Department of Education. This action has resulted in barely a skeletal staff at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). In addition, 243 employees from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) were terminated, and seven OCR offices were closed; data and resources that inform policy and enforcement are also potentially at stake. This sweeping reduction, coupled with last month’s mass cancellation of contracts and since followed by the March 20, 2025 Executive Order, dismantles the Department’s essential research and statistics agencies and their key functions, preventing them from executing their Congressionally mandated responsibilities. Congress established IES within the Department of Education and requires IES to fund specific education research topics, collect and report statistics including through the annual Condition of Education, conduct evaluations, and stand up 10 Regional Educational Laboratories. Without staff in place to conduct these functions, IES cannot meet its congressional mandates. We turn to Congress to ensure critical legitimate Federal functions of the Education Department are not lost, specifically that IES is restored as an independent, apolitical unit to serve education and the public good and that, within it, the National Centers for Education Statistics (NCES), founded in 1867 and the second oldest statistical agency in the U.S., is not obliterated as one of 13 primary statistical agencies. Congress must act to protect the nation’s education data, research infrastructure, and knowledge base, by safeguarding the IES and broader USED staff, leadership, and mission. *ALT TEXT HAS BEEN ABBREVIATED TO MEET CHARACTER LIMITS* [page 2 of 2] The work of IES provides indispensable insights into the state of education nationwide and provides critical data for research work. It is not an exaggeration to say that without NCES data, much of the education research in America will come to a halt. These efforts drive evidence-based policies, innovations, and best practices across the country. The Administration’s unprecedented actions are destroying the federal government’s data infrastructure and undermining necessary support for improving education at all levels. The federal government plays an irreplaceable role in providing high-quality, objective, trustworthy, and nonpartisan education data nationwide. These data are essential for efficient disbursement of federal resources. If Congress fails to in¬tervene and fulfill its constitutional responsibilities, the consequences will be far-reaching. Ultimately, it will be students, educators, communities, and the nation that bear the cost. On behalf of 40,000+ education researchers working in every state and district in the United States who are part of our research organizations alone, we seek your help, as further delay will only bring further damage. We stand ready to help, to meet, and to provide compelling examples of the consequences of eliminating the crucial work of the IES. Signed by leadership from: American Educational Research Association Association for Education Finance & Policy Association for the Study of Higher Education Division for Research, Council for Exceptional Children The International Society of the Learning Sciences Literacy Research Association National Academy of Education National Association for Research in Science Teaching National Council on Measurement in Education Society for Research in Child Development Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness University Council for Educational Administration
March 28, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by Steph
thesgtjoker.bsky.social
Hey, at least Google Maps got one thing right with their renaming game.

Yes, this is real.
February 24, 2025 at 12:52 PM