President Trump signs executive order to dismantle the Department of Education
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that directs the education secretary to begin dismantling the Department of Education.
“We’re going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible. It’s doing this no good. We want to return our students to the states,” said the president, just before he signed the order.
The istration said that the department is wasteful and cited low test scores as a reason to begin closing it.
The order says that “the experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars -- and the unable bureaucracy those programs and dollars -- has plainly failed our children, our teachers, and our families.”
The order cannot shut down the agency entirely - that would require an act of Congress.
The order’s full extent on the department is not yet clear but istration officials note that certain functions of it like istering students loans and grants would remain under its purview.
Even though the department does not control school curriculum decisions, the move was framed as an effort to return educational decisions back to the states - a move that many Republican governor at the event praised.
“I think this gives full flexibility with no unfunded mandates, no directives on in of how you educate your kids. And to me, that ought to be something that we find the sweet spot, the right mix,” said Governor Mike Braun, (R-IN).
“There’s going to be more money flowing to the states. We can take that money and put it into, core skill set classes like, reading and math,” said Governor Greg Abbott, (R-TX).
Many Democrats and educators spoke out against the executive order on Thursday, saying that they believe the move will hurt both schools and students.
“Shutting them down the Department of Education will have a tremendous impact on students and educators and families in particular. My biggest concerns are for our most vulnerable, students. We’re talking about low income students, students with disabilities,” said Alisha Thomas Searcy, Southern Region President for Education Reform Now.
Critics of the executive order have already pledged to begin legal challenges against the istration’s action.
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