Alt: two elderly women are standing in a living room talking: that’s now how this works, that’s not how any of this works

Text SIGN PNWJFG to 50409 — I am urging you to stop the Department of Education’s attempt to quietly redefine “professional degrees” in a way that strips nursing, education, social work, audiology, public health, and other essential fields of their longstanding professional status. This change will limit students’ access to federal loan programs and choke off the talent pipeline for critically important jobs. But it is also clear this is part of a larger effort to break apart the Department and shift its financial responsibilities to private contractors and politically connected firms. That is the opposite of fiscal responsibility. It opens the door to waste, abuse, and sweetheart deals — exactly the kind of Washington insider behavior voters across the political spectrum rejected. Multiple reports confirm that the Department is already pushing major programs into agencies with no education mission. At the same time, they’re attempting to downgrade entire fields that overwhelmingly serve our communities: nurses, teachers, speech-language pathologists, social workers, and public-health professionals. These fields rely on advanced degrees and specialized training. Calling these degrees “non-professional” doesn’t make sense unless the goal is to make sure fewer students qualify for federal support — which in turn shrinks the public workforce and weakens the Department’s internal capacity. When federal expertise dries up, the next step is predictable: contract the work out. And in recent years we’ve seen how “reorganizations” in multiple agencies have led to expensive no-bid or limited-bid contracts, often handed to firms with close political ties. It creates a system where taxpayers pay more and get less, while insiders profit. This reclassification also hits the workforce that American families depend on: • Nursing: We face a nationwide shortage that affects hospitals, clinics, and veterans’ care. • Teaching: Schools everywhere struggle to hire qualified educators, especially in special education and STEM. • Public health and social work: These fields support seniors, veterans, children, and families in crisis. Reducing the ability of students to train for these jobs is not conservative, it’s not constitutional, and it’s not smart policy. It weakens national preparedness, undermines local communities, and forces states to shoulder even greater burdens. I’m asking Congress to: 1. Nullify the Department’s redefinition of “professional degrees” and restore long-standing standards recognized by accreditation and licensing bodies. 2. Ensure that federal student-aid programs cannot be privatized or outsourced without clear congressional approval. 3. Stop any attempt to dismantle the Department of Education through piecemeal actions that force essential functions into private hands. 4. Protect taxpayers by preventing back-room contracting, no-bid deals, and giveaways to political insiders. This issue should unite all sides: we need transparency, accountability, and a stable workforce in the fields that keep our communities strong. Congress must make sure no agency can hollow itself out and hand its responsibilities to private interests without oversight. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Go to Board Meeting Schedule  |  Go to Library Reports Current Board of Trustees Sue Conry President [email protected] Mary Watson Vice President [email protected] Abby Landmeier Secretary abbym…

The decision should serve as a national wake-up call.

Alt: a transgender day of remembrance poster with three candles and a pink ribbon

Alt: two polar bears laying in the snow with the words ow ow ow ow ow ow

Alt: a south park character says god damn it