Trump signs executive order to demolish the Ministry of Education (video)

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Trump took a major step towards his long-publicized education reform and signed an executive order on Thursday to remove the Department of Education and transfer control back to states. The order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take all the necessary steps to narrow down the department, although it stops eliminating it completely – which requires Congressional approval. “We are beginning the process of eliminating the federal Department of Education.” The order calls for a drastic reduction in staff and responsibilities in the department while ensuring “uninterrupted delivery” of critical programs. However, funding for student loans, Pell grants and special education programs for special education programs such as the Disability Education Act (IDEA) will still be managed by the department. LastWeek, the agency has laid off nearly half of its employees through a combination of resignation, acquisitions and reductions. Trump promises further cuts over the next month. The move has sparked strong opposition from Democrats and education advocates who believe eliminating the department will harm public education and have a disproportionate impact on low-income students, people of color and children with disabilities. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries called the order a “malicious Republican plan” to prevent it from being announced in Congress and in court. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), a ranking member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, warned that the removal of the department would “intensify existing differences” without federal protections that would prevent students from the federal government. Orders such as the National Parents’ Education Advocacy Group, such as the National Esspenter Union, condemned it as “undeniable over-choice”, calling it “attacking our children and the future” and submitting it to our republic and placing it in the “future” of the future. The bureaucracy of education has become a swelling that fails to improve student achievement. “The bottom line, the Department of Education has failed to deliver results for American students,” said Tim Walberg, chairman of the House Education Committee. He added that Trump's executive order would help put students first by removing federal control over education. Among the democratic opposition in the Senate, the fate of the department remains uncertain.

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