Trump Will Issue Order to Shut Down the US Department of Education
Today he will issue the latest–directing Linda Mc Mahon to dismantle the Department of Education. He will direct her to wind down Department programs, shift vital programs to block grants and tell Congress to shut down the U.S. DOE. Until that happens, he will use the threat of federal fund withdrawal to impose his will on our local school districts.
Eliminating the Department would turn back the clock on student rights and protections and bring those who wish to destroy neighborhood public schools one step closer to their goal.
Without the Department of Education, defunding K12 education will accelerate, with federal money sent as block grants for vouchers and charters.
- Individuals with Disability Education Act funding, now implemented and regulated by the Education Department, would go to states with no strings attached as per Project 2025. Before IDEA, students with the most severe disabilities were institutionalized or not educated at all. Students with milder disabilities were ignored or put in “slow classes.” In some states, those days would return. RFK Jr., whose wild theories about autism have damaged parents’ faith in vaccines, would be in charge of IDEA.
- Title I funding, which helps level the playing field for schools with large proportions of high-needs students, would be distributed without department regulation at the whim of state politicians. According to Project 2025, funding would eventually be eliminated.
- Without the Education Department’s extensive data collection through its National Center of Education Statistics and Office for Civil Rights, researchers would not have access to the data they need to compare states and their outcomes.
- Without the department’s Office of the Inspector General, there would be no federal agency for parents and teachers to register serious violations of students’ rights and know they will get the investigation they deserve — especially when states turn a blind eye to such abuses, as they often do.
- Student loans, managed by the Department that American families depend on for college, could end.
The Department has a critical mission. It serves as the only guardrail protecting schools and students in states that appear hellbent on destroying their public schools and every equity initiative that most Americans stand for and support. Send your letter by clicking this link: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/protect-the-us-department-of-education-stop-trumps-war-on-children/