Stem education cuts dominate the endings of NSF grants
More than half of the subsidies finished …
… And almost three -quarters of their value of $ 1 billion are in education
The cuts are felt across the country. Grant Watch has also created a map of the United States, showing that red and blue states lose dollars of federal research.
We do not know exactly how NSF chooses the subsidies to be canceled and exactly that makes decisions. Weekly sections of cuts began after the government’s ministry of efficiency or DOGE entered the NSF headquarters in mid-April. Only 40% of the subsidies finished were also in a database On 3,400 research subsidies compiled last year by Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican. Rump characterized The “questionable projects which favored diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or the advanced propaganda of the class of neo-Marxist class”. Sixty percent were not on the Cruz list.
Other NSF cuts also affect education. Earlier this year, the NSF reduced half the number of new students it would support through higher education 2,000 to 1,000. Universities are preparing to hear this summer if the NSF will continue to support graduate students who are already part of its graduate research scholarship program.
History development
The NSF observers still compiled a list of research subsidies that ended on May 9, the most recent fourth round of research. It was not clear if research subsidies to promote equity in Stem education remained active.
The equity division for excellence in the STEMs, a unit of the Education Directorate, was “Sunset”, according to an email of May 9 sent to NSF employees and obtained by the Hechinger report, and all its employees were dismissed. According to the email, this “reduction of strength” should be completed by July 12. However, later on May 9, a federal judge in San Francisco temporarily blocked the Trump administration Of the implementation of its dismissals of “strength reduction” of federal employees to the NSF and 19 other agencies.
Several programs mandated at the congress are hosted in the division of eliminated actions, in particular Louis Stokes Alliances for the participation of minorities (Lsamp) and the Eddie Bernice Johnson Initiativewhich promotes the participation of STEMs for disabled students.
The process of revising and approving new grants was thrown into chaos with the Elimination of all directors of the NSF divisionA group of intermediate managers who were stripped of their powers on May 8. In addition, NSF has reduced its ranks of its greatest senior executives and its scientists, engineers and educators on a visit. This leaves many management positions at NSF Unceans, including the head of the entire education department.
Legal update
A first audience for a group of three legal affairs by education researchers Against the Ministry of Education is scheduled for May 16. During the hearing, a federal judge in Washington, DC, will hear the arguments as to whether the court should temporarily restore research studies and licensed data collections and bring the employees of the education department linked while examining whether the Trump administration has exceeded its executive power.
A first hearing scheduled for May 9 has been postponed. During the hearing of May 16, the court will hear two similar requests from two different cases: one filed by the association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) and the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), and the other filed by the National Academy of Education (NAED) and the National Council on Measure in Education (NCME). A third prosecution of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Society for Research on Educational Efficiency (SREE) was deposited before the Federal Court of Maryland and will not be part of the May 16 audience.
This story on NSF education cuts was written by Jill Barshay and produced by The Hechinger reportAn independent non -profit press organization has focused on inequality and innovation in education. Register Evidence and others Newsletters Hechinger.