Student protesters chant during a “Hands Off Our Schools” rally outside the U.S. Department of Education building in Washington, D.C. in April. The same group held a virtual press conference on Tuesday to protest President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Two Democratic lawmakers joined student leaders Tuesday in speaking out against President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
U.S. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts and U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood of Illinois, as well as college and high school students from across the United States, issued rebukes the Trump administration’s plans to shift several Department of Education responsibilities to other Cabinet-level agencies as part of a larger effort to abolish the Department of Education 46-year-old education minister.
Markey said during a virtual press conference organized by Hands Off Our Schools, a coalition of student government leaders from Washington, D.C., that the dismantling of the department by Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon “will have an immediate negative impact on students, families and local schools across the country.”
“If a parent or supervisor needs support or technical assistance, there is no one to answer the phone,” he said.
McMahon defended the move at a Nov. 20 press conference at the White House, saying, “These interagency agreements to reduce our own bureaucratic bloat are an important step in our efforts to shift educational authority from Washington, D.C. to your state board of education, your local superintendent, your local school board – entities that are accountable to you.”
However, Markey and Underwood said the government’s actions would have extremely negative impacts.
“The Trump agenda to destroy the Department of Education is not about cutting red tape – it is about committing atrocities and intentionally dismantling the programs that ensure the promise of education is delivered to every single student,” Markey said.
Underwood said: “This administration’s attacks on our Department of Education are part of a much larger attack on the foundations of our constitutional rights and our democracy.”
She added that “by dismantling the Department of Education, this government has made an explicit decision to fail students and families.”
Underwood – a registered nurse – also took aim Department suggestion This stems from Republicans in Congress’ “big, beautiful” bill that would impose stricter loan limits on students pursuing nursing degrees because they would not fall under the classification of “professional” degrees.
She said the effort would be “devastating to our already overstretched nursing workforce and a disaster for our health care system, particularly in rural communities.”
“Brainless decision”
Students from California, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C. also criticized the department’s plans to transfer responsibilities to other agencies and criticized potential impacts on marginalized students.
“This mindless decision to move programs out of the (Education Department) targets the most vulnerable among us,” said Georgetown University student Darius Wagner, describing the move as “needlessly cruel.”
“Other federal departments that now have this responsibility do not have the resources, staff or expertise to manage these programs and will inevitably mismanage resources, leaving our most vulnerable children behind,” Wagner added.
Ayaan Moledina, a high school student from Austin, Texas, said, “The dismantling and destruction of the department will have serious consequences for the success of marginalized students.”
Moledina, who serves as federal policy director for the advocacy group Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), said, “Without a federal department, there will be no federal oversight of institutions to ensure students’ fundamental and constitutional rights.”
He added: “There will be no government support for institutions to implement federally mandated programs, placing greater strain on schools that already have their hands full.”
Six interagency agreements
The agreements to transfer several Education Department responsibilities to four other departments drew edged condemnation from Democratic officials, unions and advocacy groups, who questioned the legality of the effort and expressed concerns about the harm it would cause to students, families and schools.
The Department of Education clarified that it will “retain all statutory responsibilities and continue its oversight of these programs” regarding its six agreements signed with Labor, Interior, Health and Human Services and the state.
Prior to the six announced interagency agreements, the agency had already made a number of changes US Supreme Court A short-lived green airy was given in July, including mass layoffs that saw more than 1,300 employees laid off and a plan ordered earlier this year to dramatically downsize the department.
