Education Dept. bans federal work-study funds from going to political activities on college campuses

The Department of Education on Tuesday put out guidance that bans federal funding for work study from being used for political activism jobs, such as poll workers and voter hotlines.

The guidance comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March titled, "Protecting the Integrity of American Elections. Trump has also recently cracked down on controversial voting methods such as mail-in voting and voting machines.

The department said federal work-study funds should be used for jobs that give students "real-world work experience instead of political activities."

"Federal Work Study is meant to provide students opportunities to gain real-world experience that prepares them to succeed in the workforce, not as a way to fund political activism on our college and university campuses," Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a statement.

Kent also noted that the funds can no longer pay for political rallies, and said colleges are not required to give voting registration resources to students if they know those students are ineligible to vote. 

The department additionally noted that campuses should remind students of the federal rules for voting, such as voters having to be U.S. citizens, falsifying information in voter registration is illegal and that they can only vote in one state.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.