Gutting the Department of Education will put the future of 50 million students at risk and has the potential to send class sizes soaring, cut job training programs, take away disability services, and place higher education out of reach for many middle-class families.
MTA leaders condemn Trump’s latest attempt to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education
MTA leaders condemn Trump’s latest attempt to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education
Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy released the following statement in response to Trump’s signing of an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education:
On the heels of last week’s mass firing of the U.S. Department of Education staff, the Trump administration is continuing its relentless, cruel and lawless campaign against students, families, educators and communities in Massachusetts and throughout the country. Gutting the Department of Education will put the future of 50 million students at risk and has the potential to send class sizes soaring, cut job training programs, take away disability services, and place higher education out of reach for many middle-class families. The stakes could not be higher.
In Massachusetts, the federal Department of Education provides our state with $515 million that directly supports students and families in preK-12 schools. This money is crucial to providing special education services and nutritious meals in schools, and it ensures that all students have equitable access to a high-quality public education. The department also provides grants and loans – such as the Pell Grant – that help low- and middle-income students pay for college.
The administration of Governor Maura Healey estimates that Massachusetts could lose up to $2 billion in federal funds for education if the Department of Education is dismantled. That will result in more mass layoffs and stagnate economic activity and social mobility in our state and across the country.
With this latest executive order, Trump and his new Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, have made clear that they aim to undermine public education through cuts and privatization – taking money from public schools and giving it to private schools. With the potential for cuts in federal support for Medicaid also threatening school-based services for many children and funding turmoil underway at public colleges and universities, the Trump administration is revealing its contempt for public education, and by extension its contempt for families, communities and our democracy.
Access to high-quality, public education is a pillar of our democracy, and attacking it pushes us further down the path of authoritarianism. We will continue to stand strong against any attempt to destroy the funding relied on by our schools to provide the best education to all students. Federal threats to our public schools threaten our very democracy, and we must all fight back against the Trump administration’s callous attacks.