menu_open Columnists
Lexi Lonas Cochran

Lexi Lonas Cochran

The Hill

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

West Virginia reinstates school vaccine mandate after religious beliefs ruling

The West Virginia Board of Education announced Tuesday it will be reinstating its school vaccine mandate without religious exemption after a state...

latest 0

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

New flu variant increases outbreak concerns for schools

Despite a relatively slow start to the flu season, U.S. schools are preparing for an increase in absences and sick children as a new variant gains...

latest 5

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Warren: McMahon unfit, should resign

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is calling for the resignation of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, accusing her and President Trump of a...

yesterday 4

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Larry Summers's Epstein ties drag Harvard back into the spotlight

Harvard University is struggling with its latest controversy after multiple faculty members, including prominent economist Larry Summers, were...

24.11.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

DOJ challenges California laws providing in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced a lawsuit against California alleging it is illegal to provide in-state college tuition to undocumented...

21.11.2025 3

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Education Department moves to outsource its programs as advocates cry foul

The Education Department is advancing its plans to eliminate itself, attempting a workaround to move certain mandatory programs to other federal...

20.11.2025 20

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Harvard investigating Summers, Epstein ties: University newspaper

Harvard announced Tuesday it is investigating Larry Summers, a faculty member and former president of the university, and other school affiliates over...

19.11.2025 4

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Judge tells some Texas schools to temporarily remove Ten Commandments posters

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in Texas that told some districts to take down posters in classrooms that displayed the Ten...

19.11.2025 3

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Sale of student loan portfolio could be next target of Trump Education Department

The Trump administration is reportedly talking about selling off the federal student loan portfolio in a move decried by Democrats and faced with...

18.11.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Warren urges Harvard to cut ties with Larry Summers

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on Harvard University to cut ties with Larry Summers, a faculty member and former president of the school,...

18.11.2025 20

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Democrats seek to halt Trump's reported plan to sell off student loan portfolio

More than 40 Democratic lawmakers are highlighting and trying to prevent reported Trump administration plans to sell the government's student loan...

17.11.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

DOJ investigation into Berkeley's Turning Point protest sends warning to other colleges

The Trump administration, long critical of the way colleges handle campus protests, is sending a clear warning after multiple arrests were made...

15.11.2025 40

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Former UVA president accuses DOJ of demanding his ouster under threat of funding cuts

James Ryan, the former president of the University of Virginia (UVA), has released a scathing 12-page letter detailing the events that led to his...

15.11.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Evolving job market, soaring loan debt drive students to community colleges

The high cost of student loans, fights over policy at four-year universities and a surge in young Americans seeking blue collar work are all driving...

14.11.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Female students struggling more to recover since pandemic

A new study shows college women are struggling more than their male counterparts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.   The research, one of the...

09.11.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

From shifting loans to double majors, the economy is changing how students approach college

Students are taking a more careful approach to their higher education amid the questionable economy and new policies by the Trump administration...

08.11.2025 3

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Trump administration looks to delay last round of student loan relief in Borrower Defense settlement

The Trump administration asked for additional time Thursday to determine whether a group of about 200,000 student loan borrowers are entitled to loan...

08.11.2025 20

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Appeals court rules against Ohio school district in gender pronoun case

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Ohio's fourth-largest school district Thursday, declaring illegal a policy that punished students...

07.11.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Who gets student loan relief? Experts say new Trump rule intended to harm his political opponents

A new student loan battle is underway after the Trump administration made a change to a popular repayment plan that opponents say will allow the...

07.11.2025 2

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Head Start programs in danger after government shutdown funding lapse

Head Start, a free learning program for children from low-income families, is next on the chopping block as the government shutdown nears record...

04.11.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Blue states, groups sue Education Department over Public Service Loan Forgiveness rule change

The attorneys general of twenty-one Democratic states and Washington, D.C., as well as a pair of advocacy groups, sued the Education Department Monday...

03.11.2025 2

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Schools tackle food insecurity as SNAP benefits teeter

Schools are bracing for the impact on their students as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) teeters on the brink of running out of...

02.11.2025 50

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Why some schools have been spooked out of Halloween

Religion, politics and student participation are all among the reasons some schools have abandoned Halloween celebrations that put candy-filled...

31.10.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Colleges feel the weight of Supreme Court affirmative action decision as Black enrollment falls

Two years after the Supreme Court ruled to abolish affirmative action in higher education admissions, Black enrollment at selective universities is...

28.10.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

UVA secures more favorable terms in deal with Trump compared to private school counterparts

The University of Virginia (UVA) this past week became the first public university to reach a deal with the Trump administration, gaining more...

25.10.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Trump administration uses shutdown to push Education Department elimination

The Education Department is trying to use the government shutdown to further push for its own elimination.   From an effort to layoff almost 500...

24.10.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Abbott spooks academia after declaring Texas will go after professors for 'ideological differences'

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has rattled academia and legal experts with his open declaration that his state is "targeting professors" over their...

23.10.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Advocates cheer as Trump admin agrees to student loan forgiveness deal

Advocates are ecstatic after the Trump administration agreed to a student loan forgiveness deal that will allow millions of borrowers to see relief,...

22.10.2025 100

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Harvard slashing Ph.D. admission slots, Crimson reports

Harvard University is drastically reducing its Ph.D. student admission slots, according to the student newspaper The Harvard Crimson. Over the next...

21.10.2025 8

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Universities give cold shoulder to Trump compact offer

President Trump's college compact offer has fallen flat. As of Monday's deadline to get back to the administration, at least six prominent...

21.10.2025 40

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Demand for afterschool programs outpaces supply as cost becomes growing barrier

The supply of afterschool programs cannot keep up with the demand from parents, according to a recent report, leaving schools and students in a...

19.10.2025 50

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

New York City schools sue over federal grant cuts tied to transgender policies

New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) sued the Education Department Wednesday for federal pulling funding after the district refused to change its...

17.10.2025 8

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Parents of children with disabilities worry as Education Department shrinks

Parents of children with disabilities are growing increasingly worried as the Education Department shrinks and mechanisms for accountability seem...

17.10.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Judge blocks Texas law restricting speech on college campuses at night

District Judge David Alan Ezra ruled Tuesday to block a Texas law that restricted protests and other free speech activities on college campuses at...

16.10.2025 7

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

'The first death threat came the next day': Antifa expert who fled to Spain talks life since Trump's executive order

A typical academic year for Mark Bray, an assistant teaching professor of history at Rutgers University, turned into a nightmare after President Trump...

16.10.2025 50

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Court backs school in 'Let's go Brandon' ban case

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against two students who sued after a school punished them for wearing “Let’s go Brandon”...

15.10.2025 2

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

In Virginia, Youngkin rode education to victory 4 years ago. Earle-Sears struggles to replicate his success

Four years ago, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) was able to ride education and parents' rights as campaign issues straight to victory. But current...

13.10.2025 30

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Churches look to step up as government services dwindle under Trump

Where the federal government is pulling back, churches are looking to step up. Amid the Trump administration's funding cuts and the ongoing...

12.10.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Mamdani proposal to eliminate kindergarten gifted program splits education advocates

New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is dividing education advocates with his calls to ax a gifted program in schools. Gifted...

08.10.2025 20

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

As book bans decline, concerns mount over librarian and teacher self-censoring

The fight against book bans is entering a new phase, as the number of bans plummets but concerns grow that librarians and teachers, looking to stay...

07.10.2025 5

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Vulnerable schools prepare for the worst amid shutdown

Some U.S. schools are facing an immediate funding threat due to the government shutdown, while others are nervously eyeing their cash reserves and...

05.10.2025 5

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Newsom says he'll 'instantly' cut funding at California colleges that sign Trump pact

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) hit back at President Trump’s university compact introduced Thursday, which says higher education institutions that...

03.10.2025 100

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

FAFSA forms, launched ahead of shutdown, could be in position for 'record high' season

An early launch of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms by the Trump administration may have given the process, which has been...

02.10.2025 20

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Where will the federal shutdown impact education?

The longer a federal shutdown lasts, the harder it will be for local school districts, universities and the federal Education Department to provide...

01.10.2025 3

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

The longer the shutdown, the worse for schools, education experts say

Education advocates are biting their nails as the government shutdown begins. A contingency plan for the Education Department has been put in place,...

01.10.2025 30

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Iowa superintendent resigns after ICE arrest

Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts, who was recently arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), resigned from his post...

30.09.2025 2

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Is Gen Z more religious? It could be too early to tell

Gen Z appears to have a more complicated relationship with organized religion than the generations that preceded it, and experts are divided on if the...

30.09.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

HHS looks to block Harvard from federal funding

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Monday it is looking to exclude Harvard University from federal funding because of...

30.09.2025 10

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Senate Democrats call on FCC chair to maintain school bus wireless subsidies

Senate Democrats sent a letter to the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to urge the continuation of subsidies that fund hot spots...

29.09.2025 2

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran

Texas A&M controversy puts state at the center of fight over LGBTQ teachings

The firing of a Texas professor and subsequent resignation of the university's president are illustrating a statewide battle on when and how LGBTQ...

25.09.2025 30

The Hill

Lexi Lonas Cochran