On January 27, 2025, academic researchers and contractors with the Department of Education were ordered not to publish any research findings or information without written approval from the agency’s press secretary. An email alerting researchers to the order stated that “[u]nder no circumstances should any media — including web communications, social media, and related content — be published without prior written approval.”
Researchers are concerned that the move is an attempt to censor their work. Bruce Fuller, professor emeritus for education and public policy at the University of California at Berkeley, has an Education Department grant to study the effects of the Covid pandemic on schools and how they are recovering. He expressed concern that the order will lead to universities shutting down this type of research, “since censorship isn’t tolerated by top universities.”