Trump Takes Bold Steps to Dismantle Department of Education

BREAKING: President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have just announced a significant move toward dismantling the Department of Education. In a press call held on September 26, 2023, the administration revealed that it has entered into six agreements to transfer key educational programs to other federal agencies.

This bold step aims to fulfill Trump’s long-standing goal of eliminating the department, a plan that still requires congressional approval. The latest agreements involve partnerships with the Department of Labor for elementary and secondary education programs, the Department of Interior for Indian education initiatives, the Department of Health and Human Services for childcare and foreign medical programs, and the State Department for international education oversight.

A senior official from the Department of Education confirmed that while oversight will remain with the department, employees working on these programs can transfer to the partnering agencies. This transition marks a critical escalation in the Trump administration’s strategy, which began with an executive order signed in March 2023.

McMahon has previously stated her ambition to be the last Secretary of Education, asserting that transferring responsibilities to other agencies will empower states to make decisions about their students’ education. However, she acknowledged that eliminating the agency outright cannot happen without the backing of Congress.

While some Republican lawmakers support this initiative, including Senator Bill Cassidy, who introduced a bill to shut down the agency, past efforts to eliminate the Department of Education have failed to gain traction.

The Department has already begun outsourcing some of its functions, including moving career, technical, and adult education grants to the Department of Labor. McMahon described this move as a way to demonstrate that these programs can function more efficiently elsewhere while still under the Education Department’s oversight.

In addition to these changes, the Supreme Court has authorized the department to proceed with plans to terminate over 1,300 employees. McMahon recently stated in an opinion piece that the recent government shutdown, which lasted 43 days and occurred during the fall semester, illustrated the unnecessary nature of the federal education bureaucracy.

“The shutdown showed every family how unnecessary the federal education bureaucracy is to their children’s education,” she wrote. “Students kept going to class. Teachers continued to get paid.”

Despite these assertions, education policy experts are raising alarms about the implications of dismantling a centralized agency responsible for overseeing education across the United States. Concerns about funding and chaos in the education system are mounting. High school social studies teacher Heather Stambaugh expressed her worries, stating that “it feels a bit like we’re being thrown into a chaos loop” as the agency faces significant cuts.

As this situation develops, all eyes will be on Congress to see if they will support Trump’s radical plans or push back against the dismantling of the Department of Education. The implications for education in America are profound and will affect millions of students, teachers, and families across the nation.

Stay tuned for more updates as this story unfolds.