The measure, known as the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, broke a decades-long impasse between congressional #Republicans & #Democrats on addressing #GunViolence by focusing largely on improving #MentalHealth support for #students.

But just as some of the mental health programs are starting, the *#Education* Dept canceled the #funding this week & informed grant recipients that they would have to reapply for the money because of potential violations of federal civil rights #law. [???]

#Religious leaders, politicians & #PublicPolicy experts predict an explosion of new, #government-funded #religious #schools if #SCOTUS sides w/ #Catholic church ofcls in #Oklahoma in the case. Becoming a charter school would mean a steady stream of #funding & no need to charge #tuition.

#law #Constitution #ChurchAndState #judiciary #NAR #NewApostolicReformation #education #indoctrination #FederalistSociety #FarRight #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

As recently as a decade ago, legal experts thought the prospect of direct #public #funding for #religious public charter #schools was a long shot. But after a series of rulings by #SCOTUS & a careful legal & political campaign by #Catholic ofcls, #conservative attorneys & #Republican ofcls, the idea is on the cusp of becoming a reality.

Attorney D. John Sauer made his debut as #Trump’s solicitor general in court Wednesday.

Supporters say denying direct #public #funding to public charter #schools amounts to anti-religious *discrimination* since states allow public money to flow to other types of charter schools [but #Catholic schools get money from the #church, #PublicSchools do not]. They say the schools will also give parents greater #education choices.

#law #SCOTUS #Constitution #ChurchAndState #NAR #NewApostolicReformation #indoctrination #FederalistSociety #FarRight #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

In another study, Fieldhouse found that past efforts to cut the federal #budget largely spared investments in nondefense #research & #development.
In recent weeks, #scientists & higher #education leaders have tried to rally support among the public & #Congress for continued #funding. On Tues, the #Science Coalition, a group of public & private research #universities, released a report on the role of federal funding in promoting economic #growth.

Larger #funding cuts would have even greater effects. A 50% reduction in funding would lower #GDP nearly 7.6%, the researchers estimate, & a 75% cut would reduce it 11.3% — a larger decline than in any recession since the #GreatDepression.

A smaller #economy also means less income for the #government to #tax. As a result, while cutting investment could save money in the short run, it could leave the federal budget in worse shape over the longer term. The researchers estimate that a 25% cut to #research #funding would reduce government revenues 4.3% in the long term.

#Harvard has sued the #Trump admin in hopes of restoring the #funding, the first #university to do so. Other #schools …targeted by the admin are watching the #litigation closely.

In a letter accompanying the 2 reports, Dr. Alan Garber, Harvard’s president, apologized for the problems that the task forces revealed. He said the #Hamas attack on #Israel in 2023 & the war that followed had brought long simmering tensions to the surface, & promised to address them.

92% of #Muslim survey respondents said they believed they would face academic or professional penalties for expressing political opinions.

The findings, conveyed in densely packed reports that are hundreds of pages long, come at a delicate time for the #university. #Harvard is being scrutinized by the #Trump admin over accusations of #antisemitism, & is fighting the admin’s withdrawal of billions of dollars in federal #funding.