Southeast Asia Information Port News (www.dnyxxg.com) – The U.S. government continues its plan to dismantle the Department of Education, announcing on the 18th that it will transfer some of the Department's functions to other federal government agencies.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Education on the 18th, the Department of Education signed agreements with the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of the Interior, and the State Department to transfer six major functions currently handled by the Department of Education to these four federal government agencies.
The statement said that under the agreements, the Department of Labor will assume the functions of kindergarten-high school education programs and most higher education funding programs; the Department of Health and Human Services will take over programs providing services for students balancing academics and childcare, as well as foreign medical school accreditation programs; the Department of the Interior will take over the Office of Native American Education; and the State Department will assume more functions related to international education.
U.S. Education Secretary McMahon said in the statement that the government is breaking down the shackles of federal education agencies and returning educational authority to the states.
Randy Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement, "This is neither streamlining nor reform; it is an abandonment and betrayal of America's future. Instead of demonstrating leadership in helping all students reach their full potential, it shirks that responsibility."
On March 20, President Trump signed an executive order requiring McMahon to take all necessary measures to close the Department of Education, "returning educational authority to the states." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said the attempt to disband the Department of Education was one of Trump's "most destructive" and "most devastating" actions.
US media reports indicate that federal law requires congressional legislation to close the Department of Education. However, the Trump administration attempted to have other federal agencies assume the functions of the Department of Education as a workaround for closing it.
