The consequences of President Donald Trump’s proposed executive order aiming to close the U.S. Department of Education are being outlined by a coalition of Michigan educators, political officials, social justice organizations, and student advocates.
State Representative Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park) and Michigan State School Superintendent Michael Rice spoke at a virtual press conference on Monday organized by education advocacy groups 482Forward and the Michigan Education Justice Coalition. They discussed the steps being taken to safeguard students from what is being described as a dismantling of public education.
The federal government currently gives Michigan over $2 billion for education, and Weiss, a former teacher in the Detroit Public Schools, pointed out that many of the vital services currently offered to children would be in grave danger of being eliminated if that funding were drastically reduced or curtailed.
According to Weiss, many districts in Michigan are having difficulty keeping outstanding teachers on staff or maintaining basic infrastructure repairs or upgrades because our schools are already underfunded. The IDEA Act, for instance, has historically resulted in the federal government underfunding states’ provision of special education programs.
More than 8 million eligible children with disabilities must get special education and related services, according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which specifies how states and government organizations, including the US Department of Education, must do so.
Although the current level of funding is only about 10%, the federal government has always promised to fund states at a 40% level. We are worried about what will happen to that level of funding in the future, and we have already witnessed a lot of the chaos that has surrounded the federal spending freeze order, Weiss said.
Although the threat to close the department is more of a bluff than a reality, Rice said, it does indicate that the Trump Administration intends to use education funding as a political football, with students on the losing side, since it would require an act of Congress and a two-thirds supermajority vote to pass.
The problem will be that the President is actually endangering our children’s programs and protections—and thus, our children themselves—by attacking the U.S. Department of Education, Rice stated. Trump wants to dictate what is taught and who is served.
The mother of two students at Utica Community Schools, Rachelle Crow-Hutcher, co-director of the Michigan Education Justice Coalition, stated that both of her children had been receiving special education assistance for speech delays.
“Thanks to the special education speech intervention they received from their public schools, both of my children are doing very well,” she stated. Children all around Michigan and the nation require a little more support in order to reach their full potential.
According to Crow-Hutcher, she has received concerns from parents throughout the state whose kids are receiving special education services about what will happen to those services should Trump’s plan move forward.
I remain concerned about the civil rights of all children under the Department of Education’s protection. She expressed concern that special education services for families like mine will be discontinued in the absence of funding.
The agency safeguards students’ civil rights, including through Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs receiving federal funds, in addition to overseeing the education of students with disabilities and augmenting state funding.
It will not stop with transgender individuals, I assure you, if our institutions and leaders do not confront this, said Emme Zanotti, director of activism and civic engagement at Equality Michigan. By doing this, we are establishing a precedent that one individual can unilaterally determine who is entitled to work, education, and health care. Independent public education, civil liberties, freedom of speech, and this institution we call democracy would all perish if we set that example.
During Monday’s news conference, there was also fear that the decision to disband the Department of Education would not only make it easier for public funds to be allocated to private and religious schools, but also divert those funds from the public districts that most need them.
We must obtain what is necessary for our newborns to succeed, particularly in the face of national funding cuts. According to studies, among other detrimental effects on our most vulnerable neighborhoods, a poor educational system can raise crime rates. For the sake of our city, state, and nation’s future, we must make sure that students have access to high-quality education and services, stated Monet Harris, a 482forward activist and mom of a high school student in Detroit.
Rep. Weiss also cited Trump’s executive order, Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling, which directs districts to encourage patriotic teaching while banning financing for public schools that use curricula found to be biased toward equity.
I used to teach social studies and history in Detroit, and when I read that executive order, I started crying because I taught American history, and I’m not sure how you can teach American history and do what this executive order says,” Weiss said.
According to her, the order basically aims to whitewash American history while ignoring the various ethnic backgrounds and tapestries that are important to teaching history in general, not just African American, Asian American, or women’s history.
Weiss, who thinks the presidential order’s real intent was to incite panic and engage in political posturing, said, “I don’t know how you do that if you follow this executive order.” She is worried about efforts to restrict future federal funds for districts trying to implement a curriculum that has already been embraced by all of the state’s school districts.
U.S. Representatives Lisa McClain (R-Bruce Twp.), Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), and Tim Walberg (R-Tipton), who are members of the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, will receive the letter, which has been signed by more than 60 school boards, according to the Michigan Education Justice Coalition.
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