Trump Launches Attack On Public Education.
Donald Trump Signs An Executive Order To Officially Start Dismantling The Department of Education.
Just hours after reporting broke of the possibility, Donald Trump signed an executive order to officially begin the process of dismantling the Department of Education.
This comes after department secretary, Linda McMahon, stated in her confirmation hearing that the administration would not take any steps to do so without congress.
However, make no mistake, Trump made no attempt to hide his desire to do so on the campaign trail. It is something Republicans have foamed at the mouth over achieving since the agencies creation in 1979.
The issue is simple, most people who support defunding the Department of Education couldn’t tell you what it does or would profit from it going away. As it is the only thing providing a backbone of equality in our education system.
For instance, a main function of the Department of Education is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
This is a law that guarantees a free public education is not only eligible to children with disabilities throughout the nation, but ensures special education and related services to those children.
It goes as far to support early intervention services for infants and toddlers and their families, and awards competitive discretionary grants to schools who provide such services.
In many private schools, due to not receiving this funding, they just do not offer these services. Or when they do, they are far inferior in quality as they prioritize profit to the expensive equipment necessary.
The other primary function of the Department of Education is Title I funding. Which, in short, provides supplemental financial assistance to school districts for children from low-income families.
Over 60% of public schools are eligible for Title I funding with roughly 25 million students impacted by this.
It is dispersed federally to the states, with accountability measures on required testing scores, and allows schools to have extra resources on hand that can then help all of its students.
The Department of Education is also who handles federal grants and scholarships, like the Pell Grant, many of which help impoverished communities break educational barriers.
It serves functions with student loans, work-study financing, and other federal aid programs as well. All of which work as a ladder into higher education that many in the middle class wouldn’t have access to otherwise.
Many of the justifications given for removing the Department of Education do not line up with these actual functions of the agency. Often you will hear claims of a “failing educational system” or “declining test scores.”
Claims in which the merit can be discussed, but even if taken at face-value, have no relationship to the Department of Education. This is because the department does not set curriculum or testing standards for any school.
The other most common rebuff is “woke indoctrination.” Which means something along the lines of teachers pushing liberal views onto students.
Where this is again, almost definitely false, but even if taken at face-value would have nothing to do with the Department of Education. The agency doesn’t establish schools or teaching practices, nor does it have requirements for enrollment, graduation, or employment.
Now that you know what the Department of Education actually does and doesn’t do, it’s important to mention the massive benefit we see from it is all achieved for roughly just 4% of the federal budget.
This is less than Veterans Affairs, Social Security, Our Defense Budget, The Treasury, and more.
Let’s stop tolerating Republicans attacking our most crucial agencies on the premise of “waste, fraud and abuse” when its obvious the real answer is to fund their $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy they hope to push through congress.