(NewsNation) — Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, warned that dismantling the Department of Education could have severe consequences for students across the nation, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the department, vowing to return control to states and local communities. The Trump administration argues the current system has failed students, citing stagnant math and reading scores since the department’s creation in 1979, despite rising education spending.
Weingarten said that while the department under former President Joe Biden’s administration “did not do a good job,” the agency shouldn’t be dismantled but rather made efficient.
“My union actually didn’t want the Department of Education in the first place. We thought it should stay as HEW (Health, Education, and Welfare) but now that we have it, we can’t throw the baby out with the bath water,” Weingarten said Sunday on “NewsNation Prime.”
What happens if the Department of Education is abolished?
Weingarten said that federal education dollars, which she described as “one out of every $9 that kids get,” support essential services including special education, after-school programs and resources for rural schools.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen with $100 billion that the Federal Department of Education is now charged with getting out to the states,” Weingarten said. “That funding funds huge opportunity gaps in states.”
DC Bureau: Education Department Dismantling
Former Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire, now CEO of Career Education Colleges and Universities, agreed “there’s been huge inefficiency in the Department of Education.”
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