HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — President Donald Trump claimed Monday that he has dismantled the Department of Education.
He said in a statement on American Education Week, an annual commemoration for public education that began Monday and will end on Friday, that he has given control of educational matters to states, which he noted are best able to help students.
“A great country demands a great education system—one that prepares our children to lead, innovates, and secures a stronger future for America,” Trump said.
“This American Education Week, my Administration is committed to building an education system that empowers our students and families, prioritizes choice, and always pursues the good, the true, and the beautiful.”
It’s unclear whether the president has actually dismantled the Department of Education. He issued an executive order earlier this year to do so, but the department is still running, albeit with less staff. Secretary Linda McMahon said in an article for USA Today on Sunday that she was committed to shutting her agency down, though it would still enforce discrimination laws and work to reduce tuition and incentivize degrees that “leave students better off” and produce “hard skills.”
The National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in the country and one of the creators of American Education Week, has denounced the Trump administration’s actions. NEA President Becky Pringle said a day before the president’s executive order that dismantling the education department would be like using a “wrecking ball” against public schools and the futures of public school students.
“If successful, Trump’s continued actions will hurt all students by sending class sizes soaring, cutting job training programs, making higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle class families, taking away special education services for students with disabilities, and gutting student civil rights protections,” Pringle explained.
Trump has said that he is “restoring” the country’s education by eliminating the body that pushes ideology he disagrees with. The Department of Education has allowed schools to become “laboratories” for “deranged social experiments,” the president said Monday.
“Through these actions, my Administration is restoring common sense to classrooms, returning real authority to parents, and building a generation of thinkers, builders, and leaders who are ready to carry our Nation forward,” Trump claimed. “America’s Golden Age begins in the classroom, and by restoring the greatest education system in the world, we are building a stronger future for our culture, our children, and our beloved country.”
Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.