The Demolition of the Department of Education

On March 20, United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the demolition of the US Department of Education. In the order, Trump argues that despite funding the department for the past 45 years, it has failed to support struggling students, has not delivered the quality education needed for subject proficiency, and has limited students’ opportunities. Trump claims that the Department of Education “does not educate anyone,” and that removing it would “provide children and their families the opportunity to escape a system that is failing them.” Trump plans to return control over educational affairs to the states while simultaneously upholding the benefits, services, and programs for US citizens. President Trump added to the order that “any program or activity receiving Federal assistance terminate illegal discrimination obscured under the label “diversity, equity, and inclusion” or similar terms and programs promoting gender ideology.”
In reaction to this executive order, Trump received mixed reviews. Some people, such as Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, became outraged openly opposed the order. In an issued statement, Pringle insisted that “Donald Trump and extreme politicians want to shut the door to equal educational opportunities for all children by attacking diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.” With this, many Americans began feeling hopeless, saying that this order will make people need to rethink their plans for the future, and that it may have a negative impact on people who want to pursue education through college. Additionally, because the Department of Education provides funds to colleges, some people expressed concern that shutting it down could disrupt financial support for higher education or lead to those funds being redirected elsewhere. On the other hand, officials such as Linda McMahon asserted that shutting it down may be a good thing, and that having the states in control of the education of their population may be beneficial to the US and its citizens. In a public statement, McMahon announced “we will empower states to take charge and advocate for and implement what is best for students, families, and educators in their communities.” Following that, McMahon also added that funds would not be restricted from those who need them, such as special needs students, people with college student loans, K-12 students, and more.
President Trump reports, “Today, American reading and math scores are near historical lows.” A large portion of school children are lacking and behind in their education, as seen in recent student test results. Studies show that 70% of eighth grade students fall below the expected reading level for their age group, and 72% of eighth graders, nearly three-fourths of children that age, are beneath proficiency in algebraic math. Trump states that the Department of Education has “failed our children, our teachers, and our families”.
Trump also voiced that this order could be beneficial to people with student loan debts to pay off. Currently, 42.7 million Americans have federal student loan debt. The Department of Education maintains the Federal Student Aid program, a program dedicated to providing money through loans, grants, and work study for adults who aspire to attend college or university. However, they currently hold student loan debts that total to $1.777 trillion. Federal student loan debts reach $1.693 trillion, while private student loan debts get to about $134.3 billion. Because of this, President Trump states that the Department of Education cannot properly manage these student debts, considering that the department of education has only 1,500 workers for the Federal Student Aid program, making them unfit and unable to keep track of such a large number. According to Trump, eradicating the Department of Education would solve, or at least lessen the problem.