Trump Signs Executive Order to Begin Dismantling Dept. of Education

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an Executive Order to begin dismantling the Department of Education.

The move creates a myriad of questions for parents, school administrators and student loan holders.

“The executive order dismantling the U.S. Department of Education creates uncertainty for all school districts, including PUSD,” said Hilda Ramirez Horvath. “It is too soon to say exactly how this will impact our students, but we are closely monitoring to evaluate any potential effects on our schools.”

According to Horvath, last week, a district team met with the U.S. Department of Education’s Disaster Recovery Unit on the campuses of Altadena Arts Magnet and Eliot Arts Magnet to discuss support for schools following the Eaton fire.

The future of that assistance is unclear, according to Horvath.

“We are committed to providing a quality education for every student and continuing to meet their learning needs,” she said. “We will continue working with state and local partners to sustain vital programs, and to keep our communities informed.”

Conservatives have long wanted to shutter the agency which was created in 1979 by Congress during Jimmy Carter’s administration.

However, only Congress can completely shut down the department, and Trump officials have acknowledged to CNN they don’t have the votes to dissolve the department that way, according to that news agency.

“Dismantling the Department of Education, laying off thousands of dedicated Department of Education staff, appointing someone who has never spent a day teaching in a classroom to be our Secretary of Education…these are more than just headlines,” said Jonathan Gardner, President of the United Teachers Union. “They are direct threats to public education and the future of students and families across our community.”

Gardner said the “Trump/Musk Administration” is betraying public-school students and educators.

“Education is a non-partisan issue. Students in poverty and students with special needs deserve resources and support in our schools – we can all agree on that.

“The Trump/Musk Administration is targeting students and families in our communities with these vicious plans to dismantle public education. It’s unacceptable and we and our state and federal affiliates to our union are fighting back. We need more resources for special education. This administration is showing us that we can’t trust them to deliver what Pasadena students deserve.”

Gardner said the United Teachers of Pasadena is demanding that members of Congress do their jobs and step up to protect local students at this critical time.

“Don’t cut funding for special education students. Work with educators to invest in our students’ futures. Members of Congress need to remember their communities, and neighborhood schools and fight to protect public education. We provide support to special education students in our communities and services to children living in poverty.”

According to Gardner, the Pasadena Unified School District would lose millions in funding to provide these vital services. The Department of Education also helps students and families who receive support to attend college with Pell Grants or federal student loans.

“These programs are now under threat of being cut. Now is the time to help students dream bigger – not slash our resources and force more students to let go of their academic goals. In Pasadena and across the nation, we’re going to fight back – it’s what union educators do. We won’t accept any cuts that harm our students. At a time when the wealthy few are making billions and not paying their fair share while cutting critical funds for public schools, we must act now.”

Although the order does not close the department, it will “greatly minimize the agency,” according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Leavitt said that “critical functions” like student loans would remain under the agency’s purview.

An email circulated among staff members on Wednesday instructing many employees to schedule a time to collect personal items from their office and to return government devices.

Employees are being given a half hour to pack up their items using their own boxes and tape.

The department is responsible for grants, enforcing civil rights and overseeing the federal student loan program amongst other things.

The order instructs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the states.”

Typically, school funding, and control over curriculum, is provided by states and localities.

Some of the agency’s responsibilities could go to other departments, including the Small Business Association, according to CNN.

But finding another department to oversee the agency’s massive student debt portfolio has proven to be a headache.

According to news outlets, the loan portfolio totals $1.8 trillion in debt, with an estimated 40% of loans past due.

Already, nearly half of the Education Department’s employees have been put on notice they could be laid off. And a number of programs meant to promote diversity and put in place protections for transgender students have been rolled back.

“Today’s illegal act by the Trump administration will have disastrous consequences for our schools,” said Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Pasadena). “It will mean less resources for special education, for teacher training, and for individualized attention to the learning needs of each child. That these cuts are made to fund a tax cut for large corporations makes the sacrifice of our schools even more unbearable.”

Schiff said that firing thousands of education professionals and causing the layoffs of thousands more will impede the development of an entire generation of students across America.

“As the product of a public K-12 education, and the proud parent of two kids raised in public schools, I have seen firsthand the transformative power of a good, quality education. Donald Trump may have played hooky the day they taught civics at his school, but he does not have the power to overturn laws passed by Congress.”