The Department of Education was established in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter. It is responsible for enforcing civil laws, supporting students with disabilities, and promoting equal educational opportunities for all students. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to effectively shut down the Department of Education. He held an event at the White House where he directed the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the states while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.” (NBC policies).
Linda McMahon said she would remove the red tape and empower states to decide what is best for their schools. She also recently proposed halving the workforce, claiming that the move was a detrimental first step toward shutting down the Department of Education. By signing this order, we are taking a significant step forward to give parents and states control over their children’s education. Teachers will be unshackled from burdensome regulations and paperwork. (U.S. Department of Education).
What does this change mean for students and educators? The Trump administration has eliminated contracts related to federal aid programs such as FASA. The administration has not considered what this means for other operations, such as technical education and adult learning, grants for rural schools and after-school programs, and a federal work-study program that employs students with financial need. Advocates are worried that without federal supervision, state leaders will spend the money on whatever they want. The NAACP president Derrick Johnson stated, “This is a dark day for the millions of American children who depend on federal funding for a quality education, including those in poor and rural communities with parents who voted for Trump.” (Apnews).
Sources:
Trump set to sign executive order shuttering the Education Department.t
WATCH: Trump signs order for plan to shut down Education Department | PBS News
Trump orders plan to dismantle Education Department | AP News
