The U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday that it had canceled 18 grants worth $226 million from a program after a conservative criticized resources the program created alleging schools are awash with “white supremacy” and advocated moving away from the gender binary.
Christopher Rufo posted about the resources created by the Comprehensive Centers Program on Tuesday. By Wednesday, the department announced the funding was cut and cited Rufo’s posts on X, formerly Twitter, in the press release announcement, calling them “divisive and wasteful.”
The Comprehensive Centers Program has been funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Education since 1995. The National Comprehensive Center, which is operated by Westat, did not respond to Chalkboard’s request for comment before publication.
The Department of Education’s grant page for the program says appropriations cost $50 million in fiscal year 2024. Other federal spending information shows the program continued under the previous Trump administration.
Twenty regional centers, including the national one operated by Westat, received between $1 million and $6 million in federal funds. But critics like Rufo say they use them for controversial purposes.
The cuts follow other recent actions from the Department of Education, including spending cuts for organizations or institutions creating materials with ideological positions opposed to those of the Trump administration.
Earlier this week, Rufo posted on X: “The Department of Education has granted more than $200 million to 21 ‘comprehensive centers’ that push left-wing ideologies in local districts. They believe America’s schools are systems of ‘institutionalized privilege’ and that there are too many ‘White students’ in STEM.”
Owner of X and head of the new Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk responded to Rufo’s post with with two exclamation points.
The Department of Education has granted more than $200 million to 21 “comprehensive centers” that push left-wing ideologies in local districts. They believe America’s schools are systems of “institutionalized privilege” and that there are too many “White students” in STEM. pic.twitter.com/tXHkmdPVK6
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) February 18, 2025
The next day, the Department of Education announced the cuts to the Comprehensive Centers Program.
“These grants went to a network of regional and national centers funded to provide scalable ‘capacity-building’ services to states and systems within their regions, including reports and convenings to improve instructional materials and educational outcomes,” the federal education agency said in the statement.
“Instead, Comprehensive Centers have been forcing radical agendas onto states and systems, including race-based discrimination and gender identity ideology,” the Department’s statement said.
The Department of Education cited Rufo’s specific posts on X about the Comprehensive Centers program, which included “A research paper claiming that there are too many ‘white students’ in STEM,” “A video instructing teachers to ‘flick that white man off your shoulder’ in order to resist the ‘settler patriarchy’ and the ‘white gaze.’”
The department also said the Comprehensive Centers created a “recorded lecture about how America’s schools are a system of ‘settler-colonial realities’ and ‘white supremacy’” as well as a “joint video call instructing teachers to ‘move away from the [sex] binary’ and to ‘use non-heteronormative language.’
