US President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order
Washington, DC: According to USA Today, which cited senior Trump administration sources, US President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign an executive order on Thursday (local time) with the goal of dismantling the US Department of Education, fulfilling a campaign pledge.
Several Republican governors and state education commissioners are slated to attend a White House event where Trump will sign the directive.
According to USA Today, which cited a White House description of the directive, Trump would direct his education secretary, Linda McMahon, to take all necessary steps to enable the Department of Education’s closure and restore educational control to the States.
Another requirement of the order was the “uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
Following the Trump administration’s attempts to shut down the US Agency for International Development, which were thwarted this week by a federal district court in Maryland, Trump’s new order will establish a new standard for determining the limits of presidential power.
The department, established by Congress as a Cabinet-level body in 1978, will not instantly close as a result of Trump’s directive. Congress must take measures to completely abolish the agency.
Trump has cut staff in recent weeks, but the agency remains in place and continues to manage important federal school financing programs.
Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields, the principal of the White House, told USA Today that the order “will empower parents, states, and communities to take control and improve outcomes for all students.” The National Assessment of Educational Progress test results, he said, “reveal a national crisis—our children are falling behind.”
The order targets “regulations and paperwork” that the Department of Education is required to produce, according to the White House summary. It emphasizes that federal guidance in the form of “Dear Colleague” letters from the department “redirects resources toward complying with ideological initiatives, which diverts staff time and attention away from schools’ primary role of teaching.”
According to a White House official, the order that Trump will sign will not alter federal student loan payments, Title I funding for low-income schools, or federal funding for students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act while McMahon develops a strategy to “bring these funds closer to states, localities, and more importantly, students.”
According to USA Today, which cited the White House statement, the directive prohibits education programs that receive “any remaining Department of Education funds” from promoting gender ideology or diversity, equality, and inclusion.
State officials are anticipated to attend the signing ceremony, including Republican Governors Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, Mike DeWine, and Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin. Although the federal government has no authority over school curricula, Republican politicians have long accused the federal government of controlling state and local education policy.
Trump’s directive follows the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) “reductions in force” throughout the federal government, which included the notice of termination of more than 1,300 Education Department workers last week. Since taking office for a second term, the Trump administration has shrunk the department’s personnel from 4,133 employees to 2,183 employees via a combination of voluntary buyouts and cutbacks.
When comparing the performance of US public schools to those in other countries, Trump has been critical. In the month of February, he said, “We’re ranked at the very bottom of the list, but we’re at the top of the list in one thing: the cost per pupil.”
Trump and other Republican legislators have used statistics from the research arm of the Education Department to support their criticisms. Trump has advocated for states to have full control over schools since taking office for a second term. He often cited Iowa and Indiana as two high-achieving states that “should run their own education,” according to the USA Today story.
While the federal government has little control over schools that receive federal funds, local school districts and states already regulate what is taught to pupils in schools. The US President has disregarded Congress in closing USAID offices and dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s operations, and Trump’s action sets up yet another test of his executive power.
