AGP Executive Report

College Sports Policy: Nick Saban testified for the bipartisan “Protect College Sports Act,” arguing for tighter rules on transfers and tampering after alleged NIL/portal manipulation cases. Federal Education Politics: The Education Department is backing away from a civil-rights focus on Black students, while protests disrupted a planned Education Secretary stop in Massachusetts. Equity in K-12 Enrollment: New York school enrollment snapshots show shifting demographics, including rising multiracial and Hispanic student shares at multiple schools, alongside very small counts at others. School Meals: Mercer County’s “Myron’s Meal Mobile” bus will keep serving free summer lunches for a sixth straight year. Health Research: The American Heart Association launched a national heart transplant research network to close gaps in outcomes and equity. Tech + Environment: A UN University report warns data centers’ electricity use and water demand will surge as AI expands. Community & Learning: A new Yampa River park in Craig, Colo., is set for a June 26 grand opening, with local schools and families expected to use the trails.

Civil Rights in Schools: The Trump administration is backing away from addressing civil rights for Black students, with critics saying it flips the purpose of civil rights law and threatens school funding and grants. Higher Ed & Academic Freedom: UW–Madison is set to teach future educators “anti-racist behaviors” and “social justice,” drawing First Amendment concerns about whether faculty are being pushed to adopt specific views. College Sports Pay: Senators Cruz and Cantwell unveiled a bill to “restore order” in college athletics compensation, as NIL rules and patchwork state laws keep roiling the system. Student Life & Child Care: Amesbury schools are revisiting a proposal for on-site daycare for district employees and community members at Amesbury Middle School. Campus Recognition: Belmont University released its spring 2026 Dean’s List, with about 49% of undergrads earning the honor. Policy & Representation: Iowa’s primaries set up new matchups, including Christina Bohannan’s Democratic win in Iowa’s 1st District and Josh Turek’s Senate nomination.

School Phone Rules: Illinois is moving to a mandatory “bell-to-bell” cellphone ban, with limited exceptions for health care, English learners, and caregiving needs—schools must draft template policies by Sept. 1. Immigration & Health Access: Louisiana’s new law targeting noncitizen Medicaid enrollees is raising fears among mixed-status families that children’s coverage and routine care could be disrupted. Redistricting Test: California’s Prop 50-backed congressional map is getting its first real-world test in Tuesday primaries, with closely watched matchups like incumbents Ken Calvert vs. Young Kim. College Sports Overhaul: A new Protect College Sports Act aims to reshape college athletics rules, drawing sharp debate over federal control vs. NCAA autonomy. Education Leadership: The University of Alabama named a new dean for its School of Leadership and Policy, while Algoma University appointed Kofi Campbell as president and vice-chancellor. Student Data Snapshots: Multiple New York schools reported enrollment shifts in 2025-26, including large declines in white student counts at Truman Elementary and Eastchester Senior High.

Federal Education Tour: U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited Massachusetts, touring classrooms and holding a teacher roundtable on state-led education, chronic absenteeism, and teacher retention—pushing for stronger local decision-making. Alzheimer’s Diagnostics Access: C2N Diagnostics and SouthGenetics partnered to expand blood tests for Alzheimer’s amyloid pathology across Latin America and the Caribbean, aiming to ease specialist and imaging gaps. Immigration & Schools: A new Trump plan could cut U.S. visa-processing sites across Africa from 50 to 20, forcing many applicants to travel farther—raising barriers for families and students. Summer Meals: Midland Public Schools will offer free summer breakfasts and lunches at six sites starting June 8 through August, no sign-up required. Rural Innovation: Vermont’s UVM RISE Summit (June 16) spotlights “AI and the Future Rural Economy,” focusing on community-university partnerships. Higher Ed & Health Workforce: Haskell Indian Nations University and the Indian Health Service signed an agreement to build a new clinic on campus, expanding Native student training and health care access. Local School Support: Sharon-Mutual High School released its second-semester honor rolls, recognizing top student achievement.

Higher Ed & Rural Innovation: The University of Vermont will host its RISE Summit on June 16, focusing on “Partnerships for Rural Prosperity” and a keynote on how AI could shape the future rural economy. Rural Health Access: Iowa Primary Care Association will run two technical assistance sessions in Osceola on June 4 to help groups prepare for Iowa HHS funding tied to coordinated care models, including co-location and a school-based initiative. School Tech & Screen Time: Illinois lawmakers approved a statewide cellphone ban during school hours, with Gov. JB Pritzker expected to sign, aiming to reduce disruptive screen time. Classroom Funding Tensions: Cabrillo Unified School District’s board meeting highlighted conflict over a costly coding contract versus core staffing needs, while the district also works to close a gap on a high school pool project. Student Disruption After Disasters: Four Cebu City schools will stay closed for the 2026–27 year as earthquake and typhoon damage forces students to learn in tents. Equity & Enrollment Snapshot: New York enrollment reports show several schools with very high white student shares, including Milton School (82.4%) and Schalmont High (79.1%), underscoring how local demographics shape school communities. AI Accessibility in Libraries: A stroke survivor and author will debut an AI voice-cloned audiobook at the American Library Association conference, aiming to reclaim communication through inclusive storytelling.

School Board Voting Rights: A Chalkbeat report warns that the Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision could reshape school board elections, making it harder to challenge at-large systems that can dilute Black representation. Local School Access: Little Rock is using a state transportation modernization grant to expand free rides and bike-to-school supports, aiming to get more students to class. Higher Ed Equity Fight: A complaint alleges Bradley University’s Hometown Scholars Program uses race and LGBTQ+ status in scholarship eligibility, setting up a legal test of federal anti-discrimination rules. Student Tech & Learning: A separate education-focused piece highlights growing pressure to rethink daily screen use in classrooms. Arts Education & Community: WVU School of Medicine retirees gave $100,000 to support the WVU Art Museum, backing community art events and future programming. Food Security: Indiana announced nearly 1,000 summer meal sites for students 18 and under, with help via USDA hotlines and online locators. Arts Education Under Pressure: Commentary argues art schools are disappearing as education gets pushed toward business models. Sports & Student Life: North Shore Community College held an outdoor commencement for 500+ graduates, citing growth tied to free community college.

Immigration & Childcare: A new study finds intensified ICE enforcement (2023–2025) shrank the formal childcare workforce, with centers cutting enrollment, closing classrooms, and sometimes shutting down—hurting families who rely on stable care. Higher Ed Policy: UW–Madison is dropping its ethnic studies general-education requirement for incoming students starting Summer 2026, replacing it with standardized “Core GenEd” categories aligned across the UW system. College Admissions Debate: New Hampshire lawmakers are weighing whether to replace the SAT with the CLT, reigniting the broader question of what tests should measure college readiness. College Sports Funding: City Colleges of Chicago–Malcolm X College reported $162,126 for men’s basketball in 2024, below the Illinois average—another reminder that athletic spending varies widely by school. Student Visa Anxiety: At Foothill College, students warned proposed federal changes to visas and work authorizations could disrupt education plans for international students and DACA recipients. Community Learning: Triplett Tech students helped create a new Mount Jackson “LOVEwork” sign, turning local history into a hands-on classroom project.

Childcare Under Pressure: New research says intensified ICE enforcement from 2023 to 2025 reshaped the childcare workforce, with centers cutting enrollment, closing classrooms, and sometimes shutting down—hurting immigrant women’s employment and making it harder for families, especially working mothers, to find stable care. College Sports Spending Watch: Multiple schools reported 2024 women’s and men’s basketball spending that varies widely from state averages, including University of Illinois Chicago (women’s) and Vanderbilt (men’s), underscoring how athletics budgets keep climbing. Student Enrollment Snapshots: Texas districts released 2024-25 enrollment counts, including Canadian High School (283 students) and Motley County School (179), while Georgia and Louisiana reporting highlights shifting demographics and ongoing attendance challenges. Workforce Training Milestone: Aurora’s CEJA Workforce Development Hub held its first graduation for a green-energy job training program, preparing students for construction and solar apprenticeships with industry credentials. Equity Grant Fight in Oregon: Two nonprofits filed a complaint alleging Oregon’s charter school equity grants use race-based quotas and bonuses, arguing it violates federal civil rights rules. School Sports Policy Spotlight: West Virginia’s transgender shot-put champion Becky Pepper-Jackson’s season comes amid “Save Women’s Sports Act” debate.

Immigration & Childcare: New research from UVM, Yale, Arizona State, and American University finds intensified ICE activity between 2023 and 2025 reduced capacity in the formal childcare sector—centers cut enrollment, closed classrooms, and sometimes shut down—hurting families, especially working mothers who rely on stable care. English Learners: A report says the Trump administration moved to dissolve the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition, raising alarms for more than 5 million English learners and weakening federal civil-rights oversight. School Leadership & Immigration: Iowa’s former Des Moines school superintendent Ian Roberts was sentenced to two years in federal prison for falsely claiming U.S. citizenship and illegal firearm possession; he’s expected to be deported after serving time. Local School Changes: California’s McKinleyville Union School District plans to consolidate buildings to save about $600,000 a year and avoid layoffs. College & Workforce Pipeline: University of Michigan–Flint’s “Data Science Day” brought hundreds of Genesee County high school students to explore STEM careers, including hands-on coding. Nursing Education Lawsuit: Major nursing groups sued the Department of Education over a rule that excludes advanced nursing degrees from “professional degree” status, arguing it blocks access for nurses amid workforce shortages. Sports & Student Life: Florida’s Seabreeze High School celebrated a large graduating class with dual-enrollment associate degrees, industry credentials, and millions in scholarships.

AI in Education: Firebird Labs launched in Armenia with OpenAI support to bring frontier AI access to 50,000 students, teachers, and researchers. College & Career Pathways: U.S. service academy nomination portal opened for Pennsylvania’s class of 2031, with applicants needing a congressional nomination. School Safety Funding: The U.S. Departments of Education and HHS launched the FY 2026 School Safety Enhancement grant competition to strengthen safe, secure school systems. Early Childhood Literacy: Missouri cut Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library funding from $6M to $2M, pausing new enrollments July 1 while continuing books for current participants. Student Grading Policy: South Carolina’s new law bans “grade floors,” making it harder for students to recover lost credits after grade drops. Legal Fight Over School Money: A judge temporarily blocked Trump’s $1.776B “anti-weaponization” fund payouts, shifting the fight to a June 12 hearing. Local School Governance: Los Angeles school board races’ mega-spending era appears to be ending as the cycle closes. Teacher Immigration Case: A federal judge ordered Milwaukee’s former teacher’s aide to be allowed to return to the U.S. after being forced to self-deport. STEM/Research: UT Knoxville launched the Knoxville Quantum Accelerator to accelerate quantum tech and regional economic growth.

Church & Community Summer Programs: A tradition that began 128 years ago in Illinois and later spread to a New York beer saloon is now continuing this summer as churches worldwide prepare for VBS. Local Education & Student Rights: A University of Tennessee PhD student sued after UT Knoxville restricted her interview-based anthropology research through its Institutional Review Board, arguing it violates her First Amendment rights. Higher Ed Accreditation Fight: A watchdog group is pressuring the Council on Social Work Education to remove DEI requirements from its accreditation standards, calling them identity-politics mandates. Immigration & School Impact: A Chicago Public Schools senior detained by ICE for two months graduated days after release, still facing GPS monitoring while her asylum case proceeds. School Safety/Policing Review: Vancouver’s school police program is under scrutiny after a third-party evaluation found student views changed since the program returned in 2023. Healthcare Access Gap: After Nashoba Valley Medical Center closed, Harvard-area families report longer ambulance trips and long waits for mental health care. Sports & Campus Life: NCAA baseball regionals kick off Friday, while a Westminster softball team earned Academic All-District honors.

School Community & Inclusion: Students and staff at Amesbury Middle School unveiled a revamped courtyard tied to the SOAR program, aiming to support emotional regulation and resilience. Career Pathways: Shepherdstown Elementary held its first Career Day in a new building, bringing in local professionals and hands-on sessions from cybersecurity to the National Park Service. College & Campus Climate: Yeshiva University students, faculty, and alumni criticized a planned commencement speaker as too polarizing, saying it could shift focus away from the school’s mission. Civics Education: A League of Women Voters chapter is pushing civics learning tied to the Declaration of Independence as the U.S. marks its 250th anniversary. Policy & Access: A federal judge visited David Anderson High School, while separate reporting highlights ongoing immigration enforcement impacts on school families, including an ICE detention near a Tempe school. Higher Ed Funding & Sports Governance: Coaches and lawmakers continue pressing for rules to rein in college sports spending and clarify academic eligibility as the NIL era strains budgets. Affordability Pressure: A South Carolina poll finds most residents say groceries, housing, and health care are hard to afford.

College Sports Shake-Up: Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at stabilizing college athletics, including limits on transfers, coach movement during the season, and a cap on eligibility. Higher Ed Survival Watch: A new Huron Consulting Group report warns nearly 25% of private nonprofit colleges could close within a decade, putting 671,000 students and $23B in endowments at risk. Disability Rights in Schools: Colorado’s disability rights bill (SB 26-125) would require schools to adapt activities so students with disabilities can participate; it’s awaiting Gov. Polis’s signature. K-12 Calendar Decisions: Chardon’s school board voted 4-1 to approve the 2027-28 academic calendar after months of discussion about start dates and instructional time. Civics Education Push: The U.S. Department of Education under secretary visited Hawaii schools and UH Manoa as part of the History Rocks! Trail to Independence civics tour. AI and Policy Classroom: Harvard Kennedy School launched a course using Beyoncé and Jay-Z to examine gaps between public policy promises and delivery. Foster Care Reform: Ohio is joining the federal “A Home for Every Child” initiative to expand foster home availability and speed permanency.

DOJ Sues UCLA: The Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit accusing UCLA of “deliberate indifference” to a hostile antisemitic environment targeting Jewish and Israeli students after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, alleging assaults and blocked access to education. College Sports Overhaul: Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell unveiled a bipartisan bill to stabilize college sports—regulating player payments, limiting transfers, and creating a “Lane Kiffin Rule” to curb coach movement—aimed at breaking a Senate logjam. Workforce Training Expansion: NASH and the Colorado State University System launched Talent Readiness–Colorado, building short, employer-aligned training pathways with badges and compensated workplace learning. Tuition Affordability in Texas: Gov. Greg Abbott froze undergraduate tuition at Texas public colleges for the third straight year through 2026–27. K-12 Book Fight: Knox County Schools in Tennessee is putting “Roots” back on shelves after a ban sparked backlash over the state’s age-appropriate materials rules. Skilled Trades Pipeline: Lackawanna College opened a new Chambersburg, Pennsylvania center offering an associate degree in welding and fabrication technology.

Texas Politics: Ken Paxton’s Texas GOP Senate primary runoff win sets up a November showdown with Democrat James Talarico, after Paxton ousted longtime Sen. John Cornyn—an abrupt end to Cornyn’s four-decade career and a test of whether Democrats can break through in statewide Texas. Education & Policy: In Spokane, school leaders are weighing a property tax levy for 2028 funding to avoid cutting hundreds of jobs; elsewhere, Colorado is rolling out free summer meals for kids, and Youngstown is considering a new bus contract to tackle transportation shortages. Higher Ed & Accountability: The University of Maine’s fast-track “YourPace” program is under accreditor scrutiny after reports of students earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in months. Courts & Rights: A federal appeals court gave Mahmoud Khalil more time to fight deportation tied to pro-Palestinian protests. Science & Climate: University of Iowa researchers report a way to capture water from the air, while Europe’s early heat breaks records.

Humanitarian Crisis: A new Lancet report warns the global aid system is “no longer fit for purpose,” saying emergencies like Sudan and Gaza are overwhelming delivery while waste and politics get in the way. Public Health & Travel: A hantavirus outbreak tied to a cruise ship has reached U.S. soil, with quarantined patients reported in Nebraska and Atlanta—raising alarms about preparedness at travel hubs. Education & Youth: Charlotte’s Valentina Cutitaru won a Congressional Art Competition and will have her work displayed in the U.S. Capitol for 11 months; meanwhile, Kentucky’s Summer Food Service Program is gearing up to serve free meals statewide. Higher Ed Under Pressure: Coverage from Europe highlights universities facing rising political and institutional pressure, with academic freedom framed as a democratic issue. Economy & Families: Consumer confidence dipped as gas and inflation stay stubborn, even as stocks hit highs.