SPOKANE, Wash. — Educators around the country are wondering what’s next now that President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
According to the New York Times, since Trump took office, more than half of the agency’s 4,400 workers have been laid off and $600 million in grants that help place teachers in underserved schools has been slashed.
On Tuesday, a federal judge ordered the DOE to restore some of those grants.
The Trump Administration insists funding for Pell Grants, low-income students and students with disabilities won’t be interrupted.
John Arthur teaches 5th and 6th grade at Meadowlark Elementary in Salt Lake City, a school where many students are below the poverty line.
“I do know that as a teacher in a Title I school, my students not only receive but rely on the funds that we get from the federal government,” Arthur said.
President Trump announced Friday that the DOE will transfer the $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio and all loan programs to the small business association, which slashed its workforce by 43%.
Special education and nutrition programs will now be handled by Robert F. Kennedy and the Health and Human Services Department.
When asked what this change to the DOE means for local students, Spokane Public Schools issued a statement, saying:
“The federal funding question is impacting some of our budgeting timelines, as we and other districts across the country need to know what our revenue will be prior to creating next school year’s budget and staffing levels.”
Only Congress has the power to shut down the Department of Education.
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