Conservatives Embrace, Progressives Deride Trump鈥檚 Order to Scale Back Federal K-12 Role
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Charles Barone, director of policy for聽Democrats for Education Reform, said no one needed an executive order to signal聽that Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos would be backing away from 鈥渁ll kinds of things when it comes to the federal role in education.鈥� He said that barely a week ago they announced they were moving away from federal oversight of the student loan industry. He聽charged聽the administraton with聽putting the interests of lenders above those of students and their families.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 like rooting for Darth聽Vader in a crowded showing of the Star Wars series,鈥� Barone said in an email. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to imagine it will get even more brazen than that, but I guess anything鈥檚 possible.鈥�
DeVos and department employees will have 300 days to study regulations and guidance issued by the Obama administration to 鈥渃onfirm if they鈥檙e consistent or inconsistent with federal law,鈥� Rob Goad, a senior White House adviser on education, told reporters Wednesday morning.
The order directs DeVos to modify or repeal any regulations and guidance where 鈥淒.C. has overstepped its legal authority,鈥� Goad said.
Lindsey Burke, director of education policy studies for the Heritage Foundation, said the move was necessary and overdue.
鈥淚t is long past time to review the regulations and red tape that are handed down from Washington that burden聽the day-to-day operations of local schools and the teachers who teach in them,鈥� she said via email.
The executive order 鈥渄elivers on [Trump鈥檚] commitment to ensure education decisions are made by those closest to students,鈥� Goad聽said. 鈥淧resident Trump has reaffirmed his commitment to getting the federal government out of the way.鈥�
Text of the executive order, released Wednesday afternoon, said the review of regulations would focus specifically on 鈥渢he curriculum or program of instruction of any elementary and secondary school and school system,鈥� 鈥渟chool administration and personnel,鈥� and 鈥渟election and content of library resources, textbooks, and instructional materials.鈥�
The review will focus specifically on the Department of Education Organization Act, the General Education Provisions Act, and the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Republicans in Congress throughout the Obama administration complained about what they saw as inappropriate executive overreach into state and local education decisions.
In particular, they criticized waivers granted from the strict accountability standards in No Child Left Behind and the Race to the Top grants, which required or incentivized states to adopt the Common Core State Standards, implement tough school turnaround plans, or tie teacher evaluations to student test scores, among other education reform proposals.
鈥淭he administration is correct to recognize that education is a state and local issue and that federal intervention has greatly exceeded Washington鈥檚 share in the funding of education,鈥� Burke said. 鈥淭he federal government funds just 10 percent of all education spending, yet is responsible, by some estimates, for more than 40 percent of the regulatory burden on states. This is a welcome review of that burdensome arrangement.鈥�
A heavy federal role was supposed to be largely聽wiped out by聽ESSA, which contains an entire section of prohibitions 鈥� including barring the Education Department from mandating any state鈥檚 curriculum. It specifically says the department can鈥檛 dictate decisions on the Common Core, one of Trump鈥檚 top education targets on the campaign trail.
(蜜桃影视: Trump鈥檚 Education Paradox: Return Schools to Local Control 鈥� by Expanding Federal Power?)
Goad said the executive order 鈥済oes a step beyond ESSA by having a comprehensive review of all the guidance and regulations issued by the previous administration.鈥�
Outside of the general K-12 education programs covered by ESSA, the department is also responsible for implementation of a host of education initiatives, including those serving students with disabilities, and enforcement of student privacy and civil rights protections in schools.
The Trump administration already repealed one major K-12 education guidance, the 鈥淒ear Colleague鈥� letter from the Education and Justice departments requiring schools to allow transgender students to use locker rooms and bathrooms matching their gender identities.
(蜜桃影视: )
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see how they could enforce much of anything even if they wanted to, given how sparsely they鈥檙e staffed at the moment,鈥� Barone said. 鈥淚 think I speak for many in saying we really look forward to reading the report and that it鈥檚 a bit surprising that they want to take the time to put it all on paper. That’s a pi帽ata everyone will want a swing at.鈥�
(蜜桃影视: Meet the 9 New Staffers Tapped to Fill Key Roles in Secretary Betsy DeVos鈥檚 Department of Education)
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Carolyn Phenicie is a senior writer at 蜜桃影视 based in Washington, D.C., covering federal policy, Congress, and the Education Department.
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