Representative Bobby Scott from Virginia began a recent hearing of the House of Representatives Education Committee by addressing the “elephant in the Chamber” – President Trump’s efforts to decrease the US Department of Education in the end.
Jose Luis Magana/AP; Getty pictures collected/npr photo
Hide the explanatory name
Switch the explanatory name
Jose Luis Magana/AP; Getty pictures collected/npr photo
American education policy at a crossroads.
White House He wants to close The US Department of Education has placed, and dozens of employees have placed a paid vacation with a little interpretation. Her plan, which confirmed to NPR, is to close the programs that the law does not quickly protect and invite Congress to carry out the rest.
President Donald Trump and the Republicans also expressed the desire to use their majority in Congress Higher education reform And creation Federal tax credit program It would help families at the country level in payment for special education.
Meanwhile, Democrats are trying to know how to prevent it.
Amid all this turmoil, on Wednesday, the House of Representatives Education Committee – its members accused of consensus on the country’s education policy – held its first meeting of this new term in Congress. In the outskirts, entitled “The Case of American Education”, some of the country’s biggest differences in education exploded to completely observed.
To close the American Education Department
“I would first start with the elephant in the room,” the great democratic of the committee, MP Bobby Scott from Virginia. “The paradox is not lost to us that we are here to discuss the state of American education while the current administration is actively discussing how to dismantle the main federal agency responsible for ensuring safe education and quality for all students.”
US Department of Education He does many things. It sends billions of dollars to schools that serve low -income students, grant civilian rights for children with disabilities, and runs the 1.6 trillion dollar student loans program.
During the hearing, Scott and his colleagues from the Democrats strongly defended the department, while the Republicans chanted Trump’s efforts to close it.
“Representative Joe Wilson, a Republican South Carolina, said that I support President Donald Trump for his courage to strengthen the elected local school councils while eliminating the Ministry of Education repeated, wasteful and federal intervention. [federal] It is clear that funding should go to students, not to Beruvancrats. “
“There are some good jobs in the Ministry of Education, [special education] Thus, but it can be woven. “
In one of the hot exchange, Democratic in California Mark Tacano reminded his Republican colleagues, “The president cannot disintegrate by one side an agency or department established in the law. … I mean that this session is called” the state of American education “, but from what I am” from ” Seeing the behavior of the other side, it should be truly called, “Republicans surrender to the potential king.” “
Some agreement to achieve students
Republicans and Democrats largely agreed to at least one thing:
Learning the student K-12 is not where it should be.
“There is a lot of work that must be done,” said the head of the committee, Republican Tim and Berg from Michigan. “Results of the latest National evaluation of educational progress Show that students are still not recovered from the epidemic, if this is the main excuse. Students are still registered at lower levels in mathematics and reading than they were in 2019. “
And emptiness It is the rightAnd the Democrats joined him in his sounding.
I spent 40 years in the semester, 40 years old. “I did not read about education in a report, I lived,” said MP Alma Adams, a democratic in North Carolina.
Unless Democrats and the Republicans cannot agree on it Why and What to do about it.
Adams suggested putting more money in teaching.
“If we do not invest in people who stand at the forefront of the semester, we cannot expect students to succeed.“
Republicans argued a different disease. Walrag claimed that students are struggling, because “many schools lost the focus on teaching the basic skills needed for successful professions … Many systems have become installed on teaching division -making ideologies.”
On those “division -exciting ideologies”
This idea is that public schools pay liberal views on race and sex that is not new. She is immersed An explosion in requests School libraries remove books that some adults find offensive. In the academic year 2023-24, Pen America More than 10,000 textbook ban across the United States
Trump also began to hunt the Ministry of Education employees who are believed to be linked to Dei programs and issued an executive order on Wednesday threatening to fund federal funding from schools that allow sexual transgender women and girls to compete in women’s sports.
A small surprise, this battle on sweat and sex took the center of the middle in the session as well.
Nicole Nelly, who witnessed the committee as head of the conservative fathers who defend education, is unusual for the efforts of the Biden administration to encourage diversity, fairness and integration in kindergarten schools until the twelfth grade.
And she said, “Identity policy permeates the provinces throughout America in Word and Deed.” “Children are dealt with regularly differently on the basis of race … after 80 years Brown against the Education CouncilSeparate activities in the guise of convergence groups continue as students and teachers are included or excluded due to skin color. “
Representative Jahana Hayes, D-Kun, a former secondary school teacher and a national teacher for the year 2016, the hearing presented a lesson in personal history on the reason for this, the federal government must continue to protect educational opportunities for traditionally marginalized children.
“While many of you have a very short memory, I chose to go to the college because my grandmother could not. There were laws that prohibit her,” said Hayes, who is black.
To choose the school
Then there was a discussion about allowing families to use public dollars to send their children to any school they choose, including private and religious schools. Currently, the federal government can do very little to encourage this so -called private schools, but President Trump He wants to change that.
The only witness in the session called by the Democrats, Janay Nelson, head of the NAACP Defense Fund, argued strongly against Trump’s plans.
Unfortunately, [Brown v. Board‘s] Nelson said that the mandate to provide all students with high -quality educational experiences respect their humanity, intelligence and full dignity … in a fierce attack.
You did not photograph words, as the former governor of Alabama, who demanded the famous “to be isolated forever!” When I argued that this choice movement “seeks to achieve unless George Wallace and Ecolita are an extremist: storing public resources to finance private education for a few advantages at the expense of many.“
The only black Republican in the committee, Borges Owenz from Utah. He said that parents should not have to wait until their public schools improve.
“We have black mothers and fathers lining up to enter an option, a voucher program, because they live in a postal code [where] Their children cannot learn. “
Owens solution: “Give our parents an option.”
During his first term, Trump Plan To create a $ 5 billion federal tax credit to help parents pay tuition fees for private schools. Republicans renew the payment for credit in 2025.
According to The latest federal data4.7 million children attend private schools.
Nearly 50 million children attend public schools in the country.
This battle is likely to run again next week, when the Senate Education Committee meets in a confirmation session Linda McMahon, Trump’s option to lead the Ministry of Education – and perhaps relax.