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State Week: Education under Trump

State Week 23 logo (capitol dome)
Brian Mackey
/
NPR Illinois

President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week that could gut the U.S. Department of Education. While some applauded the move as returning more power to local residents, others have raised concerns about the impact on programs to help special education along with low-income and rural schools.

Trump has also taken aim at higher education through scrutiny of DEI and other programs. It has put college and university administrators in a predicament.

Host Sean Crawford is joined by Professor Emeritus Charlie Wheeler and WNIJ Education Reporter Peter Medlin.

The former director of the Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) graduate program is Professor Charles N. Wheeler III, a veteran newsman who came to the University of Illinois at Springfield following a 24-year career at the Chicago Sun-Times.
Peter joins WNIJ as a graduate of North Central College. He is a native of Sandwich, Illinois.
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