‘Chaos and fear’: Mass. officials raise alarms over Trump’s move to dismantle US Dept. of Education
A day after U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., denounced it as an " illegal assault on public school kids ," senior Healey administration officials are similarly criticizing the Trump White House's efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education .
The expected move to farm out some of the Carter-era agency's functions to other parts of the government is "disappointing and devalues the critical role that education plays in building a strong future for our country," state Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez said in a statement.
"Our students and educators need a supportive federal education agency, and I have serious concerns about how future federal grants and supports will be handled," Martinez, who served as superintendent of Chicago's public schools before coming to the Bay State, said.
President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to mothball the Carter-era federal agency that's responsible for doling out grant money and enforcing federal laws that apply to the nation's massive quilt of schools.
He signed an executive order in March to carry out that promise and appointed an education secretary, former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon , to implement his will.
McMahon has acknowledged that only Congress has the power to shutter the agency, but she has argued that its functions are mostly bureaucratic and can be carried out more effectively elsewhere in government, according to The Washington Post.
McMahon made some initial moves this fall, transferring the department's career and technical education programs, including adult education and family literacy initiatives, to the U.S. Labor Department, according to the Post.
Massachusetts Education Secretary Patrick Tutweiler called the move part of an ongoing effort by the Republican White House to "sow chaos and fear while diminishing the role and capacity of the U.S. Department of Education."
Tutweiler said the federal government's decision to "transition several critical offices into other federal agencies — including one which administers K-12 grants programs – is dangerous and raises serious concerns for students, families, and educators across Massachusetts and the rest of the country."
There had been speculation that a $15 billion federal program that supports students with disabilities would be included in the realignment, but it was not, The Post reported.
The agency's other major functions, including its Office for Civil Rights and the federal student aid program, similarly were not affected. But a senior official told reporters that the agency was keeping its options open.
The Bay State has already felt some of the pain from the administration's shifting policy priorities.
In July, the Republican White House announced that it had backtracked on a decision to freeze $5.5 billion in funding for public school districts across the nation.
The money was part of a pot of $7 billion in K-12 funding that previously had been approved by Congress and was set to be distributed to states starting July 1.
That tranche included $108 million in funding for public schools in Massachusetts.
Tutweiler made note of the disruptive impact of those policy shifts, and said the state will "continue to fight for every student to have access to a high-quality public education and equitable access to affordable higher education opportunities."
State Higher Education Commissioner Noe Ortega voiced concerns about changes affecting student assistance, noting that the department has a "legacy of helping people from all backgrounds achieve the American Dream, and the dismantling of this agency is a loss for communities, economies, workforces, individuals, and families across the country ."
"If something is a priority, then someone should be put in charge of it, and the dismantling of [the Education Department] shows little value for giving people opportunities to grow their skills and earnings through affordable, accessible, high-quality post-secondary education," he said.
He said the state would continue its own efforts to support higher education, describing it as a "top priority," and "while this work will be more challenging without [the department's] historic partnership, it's also increasingly important."
Massachusetts Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw warned Wednesday that the state's youngest learners also would be affected by the Trump administration's moves on the department.
"The continued dismantling of long-standing educational structures and programs that support access to high-quality learning environments for all children is already having destabilizing and devastating effects for families, communities, and our economy," she argued. "In Massachusetts, our commitment to educational access and opportunity from cradle to career remains steadfast."
One of the state's largest teachers' unions, the American Federation of Teachers, joined by two public school districts and other labor allies, has sued in federal court to block the administration's efforts .
The AFT's president, Jessica Tang, said Wednesday that while she remains confident the union had the facts on its side, "we know the damage is already being felt in our schools, with our most vulnerable students suffering the most."
"Spreading services across multiple departments has nothing to do with increasing efficiency," Tang said. "It is just the latest effort to sow confusion in a way that makes it harder for our students, educators, and schools to access the support they need."
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