- President Donald Trumpsigned an executive order to crack open the Department of Education on Thursday. The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association condemned the move, and have promised lawsuits. Earlier this month, the department laid off nearly half of its staff.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would dissolve the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). While the agency cannot be shuttered without congressional approval, Trump signed the order saying that it would “begin eliminating the federal Department of Education once and for all.”
The order states taxpayers spend $60 billion annually on federal school funding marshalled and distributed by the DOE even though the agency “does not educate anyone.” In the order, Trump claimed its closure would help children and families “escape a system that is failing them.” Trump directed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to turn education authority over to states and local communities while ensuring “uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.” It also directs McMahon to terminate programs promoting “gender ideology,” and withdraw funding from programs and activities that illegally discriminate based on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The order claimed that the DOE maintains a public relations office with 80 staff members at a cost of $10 million a year.
In a quick rebuke, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said the 1.7-million member union would, “see you in court,” in a statement to Fortune.
The DOE is charged with oversight of the country’s $1.6 trillion federal student loan fund, and oversees and sets school policies for early childhood, primary, and secondary schools through financial funding and monitoring. The agency’s remit includes ensuring equal access to education for all students including those from low-income, disabled, and non-native English speaking homes. Established in 1979, the DOE supervises 50 million students in public school systems across the country.
Earlier this month under the direction of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the DOE laid off 2,183 employees, nearly half of its January workforce of more than 4,100.
“Now, Trump is at it again with his latest effort to gut the Department of Education programs that support every student across the nation,” National Education Association President Becky Pringle said in a statement to Fortune.
Pringle claimed cuts to the DOE would increase class sizes, cut job training programs, eliminate special education for those with disabilities, axe civil rights protections and increase college tuition prices, putting it “out of reach for middle class families.”
“We won’t be silent as anti-public education politicians try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities to pay for tax cuts for billionaires,” Pringle said.
Republican lawmakers have long tried to terminate the department since the 1980s, but in recent years that campaign has garnered traction as tensions mounted after federal mandates and policies in response to COVID-19.
“In moving forward with this, Trump is ignoring what parents and educators know is right for our students,” Pringle said.