Trump and the Department of Education update

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In just the first few months of the Trump-Vance Administration, they have checked off a lot of items on their to-do list. Between withdrawing from the Paris Climate Treaty and mass layoffs in government departments, the administration has been quickly moving through the promises they made during the campaign trail. While it was not mentioned on the campaign trail, their next move seems to be the dismantling of the Department of Education (DOED).

On March 20, President Trump signed an executive order urging Congress to eliminate the DOED, and just this week, on March 26, the administration asked the Supreme Court for permission to cut hundreds of millions of dollars worth of funding. The funding the administration aims to cut is teacher training, which has been linked with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices.

Even though some of the money does support training that include DEI topics, other funds within the budget go to hiring teachers, special education training, and teacher retention. Meaning that with the cancellation of these funds, many schools and universities around the country, whether they teach aspects of DEI or not, will be impacted

With this being said, the executive order does not solidify any changes for the DOED. In fact, many states, including Maryland, New Jersey, Colorado, and others, have filed lawsuits against the administration to block this. Not only states, but organizations like the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education have also followed suit.

Education in America has been a largely debated topic for many years. While people may have different opinions on how the problem can be solved, the concept of proper training has come up more than once. However, if the administration completes the job of dismantling the DEOD, matters such as training on a national level would no longer matter, as states would assume that power.

Jennae Overton is a first-year student studying community, environment, development and broadcast journalism. To contact her, email jco5323@psu.edu.