The president of the United States, is preparing an action to weaken or even close the country’s department of education, according to the Wall Street Journalwho released the information on Thursday (6).
The Republican must sign an executive order by instructing the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to “take all the necessary measures for the closure of the Department of Education” in the “appropriate magnitude and permitted by law”.
According to the newspaper, the executive order should be signed later this Thursday. However, the closure of the Department of Education depends on the Senate approval, where it would be necessary to guarantee at least 60 votes among the 100 senators.
An alternative to Trump would be to significantly reduce education department operations without having to close it completely.
This is not the first time Trump and McMahon have criticized the Department of Education. During last year’s election campaign, Trump promised to reduce the “government education sector” and fight what he called “money abuse to indoctrinate American youth”.
McMahon, who was confirmed by the Senate for the position of Secretary of Education last Monday (3), is a constant criticism of what he considers to be the “excessive concentration of power” of the federal government about education. She defends the idea of ”financed educational freedom, not the government.”
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The Republican government could still try to transfer responsibilities from the Federal Educational Management Body to the States. Currently, more than 85% of public school financing in the US comes from state and local governments.
The dismantling of the Department of Education would also affect essential programs, such as subsidies for needy schools and the supervision of student loans, which are fundamental to millions of American students who cannot afford universities’ tuition.
