Dems, GOP spar on schools as Education Department hangs in the balance

Please note the Deferred Resignation program (‘Fork in the Road’) expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday February 6th. There will not be an extension of this program.”

In an email to federal employees Tuesday following up on the original buyout proposal, OPM wrote

It sounded like a commercial for a used car dealership, like, ‘Act now, one day only,

said one department official who attended the meeting

We’re ranked number 40 out of 40 schools, right?”

he said at the White House on Tuesday while discussing the federal agency

Many K-12 and special needs programs existed before the Department of Education, so the extent of change remains uncertain. Some argue that more state control would give states greater autonomy over curricula, but without a standardized system, the potential for inequality in education outcomes could become a serious issue."

Kevin Thompson, founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek

The U.S. Department of Education is a very complicated enterprise, with the federal student loan portfolio the equivalent to the world's largest bank. Shutting it down would be very complicated."

Mark Kantrowitz previously told Newsweek

The President plans to fulfill a campaign promise by re-evaluating the future of the Department of Education."

A White House official told Newsweek via email

We write this grant guided by the current context in which we find ourselves — a world struggling to make sense of the horrific impacts of racism and violence on our collective humanity”

the description of one such grant reads

Americans should never again see their taxes go to outrageous grants that promote the illegal and divisive DEI agenda,

Heritage Action executive vice president Ryan Walker told the Washington Examiner

We are evaluating staffing in line with the commitment to privatising meaningful learning ahead of divisive ideology in schools and putting student outcomes above special interests,

Madison Biedermann, an Education Department spokesperson, said in a statement

I told Linda: ‘Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job,

Trump said Tuesday

I think I’d work with Congress,

Trump told reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office

We continue to plummet vis-a-vis the rest of the world. And the children at the bottom of the list are the ones who've been hurt the most. Coming through COVID was awful, but this started well before that."

DeVos said

The department ... was created as a payoff by Jimmy Carter for their endorsement of him in 1976 when he ran for president,

she said of special interest groups

Again, the president is absolutely right, and much can be done without [a] congressional vote to dismantle by simply block-granting back to the states all the funds that are invested in education,

she said

Continuing to do the same thing at the federal level and imposing everything on all the states and all the local communities simply has not worked in the 45-plus years the department has been in existence,

she said

Michael J. Ryan (doctor)chief Dr.

The proposed dismantling of the Department of Education is more than reshuffling bureaucracy. It's playing Russian roulette with America's educational future... We're not just talking about paperwork delays. But derailing generational wealth building for millions of families who depend on federal aid to access higher education."

Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek

The elimination of Pell Grants would be devastating for lower-income families and the colleges they're attending,

Beene said

Students and borrowers need more stability, not less. Borrowers already require greater clarity on their repayment options after several months of uncertainty driven by court decisions. If the Department were shuttered or diminished, with requisite Congressional approval, students and borrowers will face significant strains affording college, staying enrolled, and crafting and meeting their monthly budgets."

Sameer Gadkaree, president and CEO of The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), told Newsweek

Michael J. Ryan (doctor)chief Dr.

The shift to state control could create 50 different systems, making interstate education mobility nearly impossible,

Ryan said

Donald Trumppresident

We want federal education dollars to follow the student rather than propping up a bloated and radical bureaucracy in Washington, D.C."

President Donald Trump said last October