Trump is pushing forward with his agenda at an unprecedented speed. Here is a brief update to help our readers catch up on the latest developments.
Segregation:
America got rid of segregation laws in schools in 1954 due to the case brought to the Supreme Court called: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. However, Trump and his administration have recently overturned laws that once made segregation between people on the basis of race illegal in the workplace, and is working towards overturning many more anti-segregation laws.
While segregation as a whole is still primarily illegal, the law Trump just overturned prevented bosses from having any segregation in the workspace, and contractors from hiring or not hiring someone based on gender, race, or sexuality. Margaret Huang, the president and chief executive of the Southern Poverty Law Center, called this action “another step backward that threatens to create hostile work environments for women, people of color, and others who have faced a history of employment discrimination.” Trump has gotten rid of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
Department of Education:
Trump is pushing to slowly but surely get rid of the Department of Education, which would impact IEP/504 programs, Title IX programs, and public school funding, all of which will hinder access to public education for minority groups of students.
The Department of Education was created in October of 1979, when the Supreme Court voted to put it in place in 1980. The Department of Education controls the funding that our public schools get. That funding is used for programs like reduced or free lunch for people who don’t have enough money to buy lunch everyday, plus funding for disability accessible classrooms. Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) decided to make this change to save money to use in different departments.
Tariffs:
Another pressing topic is the tariffs. A tariff is a tax placed on goods when they cross national borders, specifically when they are imported into a country Trump has put in place. Trump has also put a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico. Recently our printing company for our Boise Highlights newspaper has had to raise prices due to these tariffs. However they have been very kind and have not raised prices very high. The tariffs were put in place to encourage buying products made within the US and so that the US can pay back debts. However Trump has put tariffs on an island only inhabited by penguins so I guess Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private from the Madagascar movie are going to have a harder time exporting Cheesy Poofs.
