Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order on Thursday to close the U.S. Department of Education, a presidential administration spokesman said.
The official made the comments anonymously ahead of an upcoming announcement that will follow through on a campaign promise to dismantle the agency, long a target for Conservatives.
Mr. Trump has criticized the Education Department as wasteful and steeped in liberal ideology, but closing it entirely is unlikely without approval from Congress, which created the department in 1979.
A White House bulletin said the order requires Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary actions to facilitate the closure of the (Department of) Education and the transfer of education authority to the states while ensuring the efficient and uninterrupted delivery of the services, programs, and benefits that Americans rely on.”
The Trump administration has already significantly downsized the agency, cutting its staff in half and making major cuts to the Office for Civil Rights and the Institute of Education Sciences, which compiles data on the nation’s academic progress.
Public school advocates say closing the department would leave children in an American education system that is deeply unequal.
“This is not a solution to education. It is a guarantee that millions of children will never have equal opportunities. And we will not let that happen without a fight,” the National Parents Union said in a statement.
The White House has not formally specified which department functions might be spun off or eliminated entirely. At her confirmation hearing, Ms. McMahon said she would preserve key initiatives such as Title I funding for low-income schools and Pell grants for disadvantaged college students. The administration’s goal, she said, would be to create “a better-functioning Department of Education.”
The department gives billions of dollars to schools every year and oversees $1.6 trillion (£1.23 trillion) in federal student loans.
Much of the agency’s work focuses on financial management — both its vast student loan portfolio and a range of support programs for colleges and school districts, from school lunches to homeless student aid. The agency also plays a major role in civil rights enforcement.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
