Laura Meckler
@laurameckler.bsky.social
National Education Writer for the Washington Post and author of DREAM TOWN: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity. Reach me at laura.meckler@washpost.com or on Signal: 2024464530
One of the most striking data points amid many in our look at civil rights enforcement under Trump's Education Department: the backlog of cases rose from about 20,000 to about 25,000 in just five months this year. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
Under Trump, the Education Dept. has flipped its civil rights mission
The administration is prioritizing allegations that transgender students and students of color are getting unfair advantages while a backlog of other cases grows.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 18, 2025 at 2:08 PM
One of the most striking data points amid many in our look at civil rights enforcement under Trump's Education Department: the backlog of cases rose from about 20,000 to about 25,000 in just five months this year. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
Meantime, the public face of the task force, Leo Terrell, has himself been accused of antisemitism – as has President Trump, repeatedly. W/ Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Susan Svrluga, Perry Stein, @emilydavies.bsky.social - All this and more at wapo.st/413jE3p 6/6
How Trump’s antisemitism task force is leading an assault on DEI, colleges
The Trump administration is using antisemitism investigations as a pretext to pursue an unrelated conservative agenda, critics say.
wapo.st
July 18, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Meantime, the public face of the task force, Leo Terrell, has himself been accused of antisemitism – as has President Trump, repeatedly. W/ Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Susan Svrluga, Perry Stein, @emilydavies.bsky.social - All this and more at wapo.st/413jE3p 6/6
In February, the antisemitism task force promised to visit 10 schools that have experienced antisemitism and meet with a wide range of people on campus to investigate. Four of those schools said no visits have been requested. (The others didn’t comment.) wapo.st/413jE3p 5/x
How Trump’s antisemitism task force is leading an assault on DEI, colleges
The Trump administration is using antisemitism investigations as a pretext to pursue an unrelated conservative agenda, critics say.
wapo.st
July 18, 2025 at 4:28 PM
In February, the antisemitism task force promised to visit 10 schools that have experienced antisemitism and meet with a wide range of people on campus to investigate. Four of those schools said no visits have been requested. (The others didn’t comment.) wapo.st/413jE3p 5/x
The administration wrote to 60 schools in March to warn that they might be subject to “enforcement actions” based on their responses to antisemitism, though more than 20 of them have heard nothing from the administration since then, according to a Washington Post survey. wapo.st/413jE3p 4/x
How Trump’s antisemitism task force is leading an assault on DEI, colleges
The Trump administration is using antisemitism investigations as a pretext to pursue an unrelated conservative agenda, critics say.
wapo.st
July 18, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The administration wrote to 60 schools in March to warn that they might be subject to “enforcement actions” based on their responses to antisemitism, though more than 20 of them have heard nothing from the administration since then, according to a Washington Post survey. wapo.st/413jE3p 4/x
There’s been a mishmash of enforcement that has frightened universities across the country. In some cases, the administration issues public threats but never follows up. In others, they pull billions of funding without investigation or attempts to find a solution as civil rights law dictates. 3/x
How Trump’s antisemitism task force is leading an assault on DEI, colleges
The Trump administration is using antisemitism investigations as a pretext to pursue an unrelated conservative agenda, critics say.
wapo.st
July 18, 2025 at 4:26 PM
There’s been a mishmash of enforcement that has frightened universities across the country. In some cases, the administration issues public threats but never follows up. In others, they pull billions of funding without investigation or attempts to find a solution as civil rights law dictates. 3/x
Big picture: Trump officials argue antisemitism and DEI are both racist and therefore related. Critics say they are using antisemitism as a pretext to go after unrelated conservative complaints. “It’s self-evident it’s not about antisemitism,” said one Jewish leader. wapo.st/413jE3p 2/x
How Trump’s antisemitism task force is leading an assault on DEI, colleges
The Trump administration is using antisemitism investigations as a pretext to pursue an unrelated conservative agenda, critics say.
wapo.st
July 18, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Big picture: Trump officials argue antisemitism and DEI are both racist and therefore related. Critics say they are using antisemitism as a pretext to go after unrelated conservative complaints. “It’s self-evident it’s not about antisemitism,” said one Jewish leader. wapo.st/413jE3p 2/x
Actually I believe there’s a provision barring that
May 13, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Actually I believe there’s a provision barring that
The request was highly unusual. Normally investigations ask for info about how the school handled incidents, not for the names of those who might have committed the harassment. The administration says the info was needed for its probes but others fear misuse. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
New Trump demand to colleges: Name protesters — and their nationalities
The demand for student information came after the administration promised to deport non-citizens who participated in what it called “pro-jihadist protests”
www.washingtonpost.com
March 25, 2025 at 12:50 PM
The request was highly unusual. Normally investigations ask for info about how the school handled incidents, not for the names of those who might have committed the harassment. The administration says the info was needed for its probes but others fear misuse. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
These "painful" staff layoffs at Sesame Street come amid existential questions for the show and the nonprofit that produces it. Read my look at the show's challenges -- and my look behind the scenes at how it's all created -- here: www.washingtonpost.com/style/intera...
Inside ‘Sesame Street’ as it fights to survive
Go behind the scenes as “Sesame Street” takes on the emotional health of children — and, with an HBO deal ending, the health of the show itself.
www.washingtonpost.com
March 6, 2025 at 4:40 PM
These "painful" staff layoffs at Sesame Street come amid existential questions for the show and the nonprofit that produces it. Read my look at the show's challenges -- and my look behind the scenes at how it's all created -- here: www.washingtonpost.com/style/intera...