Eliminating the Department of Education
Trump administration drafting executive order to initiate Department of Education’s elimination | CNN Politics
The Trump administration has begun drafting an executive order that would kick off the process of eliminating the Department of Education, the latest move by President Donald Trump to swiftly carry out his campaign promises, two sources familiar with the plans told CNN.
The move would come in two parts, the sources said. The order would direct the secretary of Education to create a plan to diminish the department through executive action.
Trump would also push for Congress to pass legislation to end the department, as those working on the order acknowledge that shuttering the department would require Congress’ involvement.
The president said Tuesday he wants his secretary of Education pick, Linda McMahon, to “put herself out of a job.”
“I told Linda, ‘Linda, I hope you do a great job in putting yourself out of a job.’ I want her to put herself out of a job – Education Department,” Trump said.
McMahon, who served as the head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term, has yet to have a confirmation hearing for the top education post.
While calls to abolish the Education Department or merge it with another federal agency are not new, the move has historically failed to get support from Congress.
During Trump’s first term as president, his administration proposed merging the Education and Labor Departments into one federal agency. Even though Republicans controlled both the Senate and House of Representatives at the time, the proposal did not go anywhere.
This year, the Education Department is simultaneously being targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, as CNN previously reported.
Dozens of employees at the Education Department were placed on paid administrative leave Friday as part of the Trump administration’s larger effort to rid the federal workforce of employees associated with diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts.
On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly pointed to the department as a sign of federal overreach and tied it to culture war issues. “We will drain the government education swamp and stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth with all sorts of things that you don’t want to have our youth hearing,” he said.
On Tuesday, Trump, an advocate for policies that make it easier for families to spend taxpayer funds on private education, lamented US educational performance and cost.
“We spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, and we’re ranked at the bottom of the list,” Trump said, adding that he wants to “let the states run schools.”
But even if he succeeded in ending the department, it’s possible that some programs and funding could be retained and shifted to other agencies, which is where they were housed before the department was created in 1979.
Federal funding programs for K-12 schools that help support the education of students from low-income families and children with disabilities, for example, predated the creation of the Department of Education.
When presidents have proposed cuts to the department’s budget in the past, Congress has resisted and appropriated more funding than what the president asked for about 71% of the time, according to an analysis from the Brookings Institution. Even when the first Trump administration proposed cutting the department’s budget, the Republican-controlled Congress ultimately increased funding.
I educated my two children from fifth grade to high school for less than $300 each per year with switched on schoolhouse. They went to college and are consistently top of the class; honors, scholarships, ete. College professors ask the school they attended and when they answer home schooled. The professors give a knowing acknowledgement. This is a testament to the inferior quality of public schools.
I got them a computer (new one every 3 years), loaded on the subjects, set up the calendar and the lesson plan got autogenerated. They spent 3 to 4 hours a day on school and the rest of the day to pursue their passions or work ahead.
The model of schools should be either family oriented or one room schoolhouse oriented. 30 students at $6,000 each with one teacher. $180K for education spent on $10,000 on computer and lessons, $30k for facilities, $5,000 for end of year funding dependent testing, and $135K for the teacher. Subvert the prominent paradigm. Do not be encumbered by what is and look to the future that can be. In my estimation, school administrators, teachers’ unions and public education cabal is syphoning of $441 billion dollars from the taxpayers. (($15k less $6K) $9K per student x 49 million students).
@Gnu,
My daughter went to public schools K-12. She took five years of Latin, two years each of biology, chemistry and calculus. She was a National Merit Scholar and got >$40,000 in merit scholarship for college. She graduated from a state university in four years Phi Beta Kappa and got a full tuition merit scholarship to a top-20 law school. This is a testament to the superior quality of public schools.
My wife and I are both products of public school educations, both state university grads (STEM, honors) and completed PhDs five years after college. This is a testament to the superior quality of public schools.
Not every home schooling student is the same and not every public school student is the same.
Congrats on your daughter and I bet you are very happy. The difference is the taxpayer spent $15,000 a year or $180k to educater your child and I bet the teachers did not have compensation of $135K a year.
Gnu:
They should double the tax to make sure all can gain a better education.
@Gnu,
“The difference is the taxpayer spent $15,000 a year or $180k to educater [sic] your child . . .”
I’m a taxpayer. In America, property taxes pay for public schools. Both renters and homeowners pay property taxes. I’ve paid property taxes continuously since I was a college sophomore. I happily pay property taxes to educate other people’s children.
Gnu:
I see we left the door open and you are here. Not that I mind as long as you behave.
We thought it best for our three to attend public schools in Madison, Wisconsin at the time. The public schools were excellent and were paid by rather high property taxes. All three played soccer both in high school and for various clubs. They also ran track. All received scholarships and we paid the balance. They again played soccer in college. I was satisfied with their grades and what they accomplished.
I also taught all three of them (including my daughter) how to check and change oil, change tires, check air pressure, and what to be aware in a car. I taught the boys how to lay brick for a wall as well as point old walls. I taught them rough carpentry. I wanted to make sure they were worldly and could do things for themselves. Such as plumbing, soldering, etc. I have quite a few tools which my oldest son covets.
I made sure my daughter had a similar degree of how to also. They all know how to camp and survive in the wild. I taught them how to shoot also. Dad was an XMarine Sergeant who could part your hair at 500 yards with a stock M14 equipped with metal sights. It was important the three of them understood how to be around bullet-spewing-weapons. They will be survivors.
I sense you are in favor of eliminating the department of education which funds ~14% of the cost. As it is now, there are public schools which are drastically underfunded. What is funded comes from the edicts of the Department of Education. I can only imagine what education would be like in southern states which have a tendency to underfund schools and over fund private schools. Arizona has done so to date.
I am fortunate to have Joel around who adds some “zing” to Angry Bear or what is defined as “enjoyably exciting or stimulating quality” to the site. Public schools are what you make of it. You can not escape the minorities or those of different origins in public schools. You have to learn to contend with them and learn how to do so.
I am a survivor. I made sure my three know how to survive. Each attended college and graduated. Each is successful. That is all I can ask for in todays world.
I think it always good to share experiences and present alternatives. My favorite saying is “subvert the prominent paradigm”. The first step is to know the structure, history and reason for the way the system works. Question the methods and look at the results and propose alternatives. Although, I believe college is a great learning accelerator, it is not the only path to success. Currently, 54% of adults have literacy below a 6th grade reading level. Plainly, 54% of adults will never succeed at college. A good portion of the 54% find success in life. I see the results and our education system has failed. We need alternatives because of my second favorite saying “repeating the same actions without changing your approach will likely lead to the same outcome, not a different one; essentially, you need to adapt to see different results. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity”. Thanks for letting me share from an escaped CON. (WisCONsinite)
@Bill,
“You can not escape the minorities or those of different origins in public schools.”
My daughter was a minority at her public high school, which was 85% African-American.