Margaret Spellings on Trump's Executive Order to Dismantle the Education Department

Trump's Executive Order on Education

• 🏛️ President Trump signed an executive order aiming to dismantle the Department of Education, a move discussed for some time.
• 🏦 The department manages $1.6 trillion in student debt and disburses $270 billion annually, making it one of the largest banks in the U.S.
• 🗳️ The order could allow the president to influence the allocation of block grants based on their personal agenda.

Congressional and State Roles

• 📜 Congress will have the final say on the proposal, as the Department of Education was congressionally created.
• 📉 Despite staff reductions, the Trump administration claims funding levels will remain, supporting low-income, special education, and financial aid recipients.
• ❓ Questions remain about the department's ability to meet congressionally mandated requirements with reduced staff and how taxpayer investments will be tracked without federal oversight.

Federal vs. State Control in Education

• 🗺️ States and local districts are primarily responsible for public education, contributing nine cents on the dollar and controlling curriculum, testing, and reading lists.
• federal government is prohibited from imposing one-size-fits-all decisions.
• 🇺🇸 The federal government's role, established during the Great Society, is to ensure educational opportunity as a path to the American dream, especially for low-income and special needs students.

Student Debt and Higher Education Value

• 💸 The $1.6 trillion in student loan debt, with an estimated $500 billion to be written down, is seen as an unfunded entitlement that drives up college costs, benefiting universities.
• 🎓 A federal role is needed to articulate the value proposition of American higher education, guiding students and taxpayers on the return on investment for significant debt.
• 📊 The role of data and truth-telling from the federal government is crucial for understanding what works in both K-12 and higher education.

Educational Achievement and Accountability

• 📉 Despite significant spending, U.S. student achievement in math and reading has seen little improvement or has declined over the years.
• 🇺🇸 Unlike other countries with tracking systems, the U.S. aims to provide educational opportunity broadly, including for special needs and low-income students, acting as a nation of second chances.
• 📈 From 2000 to 2015, accountability tied to opportunity and annual testing showed progress, but achievement has flattened or declined in the last decade.
• 🎯 A lack of expectation that every student can achieve and insufficient resourcing for this priority are identified as key problems, alongside the misallocation of experienced teachers to less needy schools.