Forty-five years after the creation of the U.S. Department of Education, President Donald Trump made official his intention to dismantle the agency on Thursday.
PHOENIX — Forty-five years after the creation of the U.S. Department of Education, President Donald Trump made official his intention to dismantle the agency on Thursday. The Executive Order signed by the president prompted swift criticism from Arizona educators.
Meanwhile, Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs downplayed the impact of the order, saying Congress would have the final say on the future of federal mandates already in place.
Guttierrez: Order hurts most vulnerable students
“I have no doubt this illegal act will be challenged in court but how much damage will he do to our state, to our kids?” said AZ State Representative Nancy Gutierrez, Democratic Minority Whip, in a video posted on social media. “What possible purpose does it serve to undermine our public education system and with it our workforce development and economy?”
Gutierrez, a Tucson school teacher, called the order “a direct attack” on students with disabilities, lower-income communities, and indigenous populations. She predicted the order will impact federal funding which amounts to roughly $1 billion annually.
Although the Trump administration has fired staff members at the Department of Education, it’s not clear yet how funding of existing programs will be impacted and the White House said Thursday “critical functions” of the department will continue. A senior White House official told NBC News Wednesday programs related to disabilities and Title 1 will not be impacted.
Gutierrez is not convinced.
“They want to devastate and destroy public education in our state and in our country,” Gutierrez said. “This is a rogue administration with Republican members of Congress too cowardly to defend their own constituents or assert their own constitutional authority.”
Biggs: Congress action needed to change mandates
“I think what’s going to happen is we’re going to get to have more local control over government,” said Andy Biggs, Republican Congressman from Mesa. “We’re also told they’re going to keep administering grants and keep administering student loans.”
Biggs said funds will continue flowing to states and said there is a question about the future of federal mandates related to programs like Common Core and special education.
“Quite frankly unless Congress takes action then those mandates actually remain in place and we’re going to have to figure out what happens there.”
Lewis: Order creates “chaos” for school districts
Save Our Schools Director Beth Lewis said the order creates instability for district leaders building staffs and writing contracts next year because comments by Trump have caused financial certainty.
The U.S. Department of Ed provides about 20% of federal funding to Arizona schools.
“The Trump administration has thrown our schools into chaos,” Lewis said. “It is hard to put in writing how much educators are going to paid for programs next year.”
The department also provides legal representation for families filing civil rights complaints and enforces nondiscrimination policies. For example, last year the department reached an agreement with Legacy Traditional charter schools after finding the schools discriminated against non-English speaking students.
“By eliminating the department and moving everything around, I think nobody trusts those provisions will be in place and actual oversight will happen anymore.”
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The post Why AZ educators are worried about the dismantling of Department of Education appeared first on World Online.
