WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative John W. Mannion today released the following statement on President Trump’s Executive Order to dismantle the Department of Education:
“Public education is the great equalizer and President Trump’s Executive Order to dismantle the Department of Education is illegal and shortsighted.
It will cause chaos across America’s system of public education. Children with disabilities will lose access to IEPs and vital supports. Students from low-income families will lose access to Upward Bound, Pell Grants, and loan programs that allow them to participate in higher education.
Schools will have larger class sizes, less mental health resources, less faculty for one-to-one learning, and fewer summer learning programs. Teachers across the country will lose access to training and professional development.
I was in the classroom for almost thirty years. I watched our public education system change lives; I watched families leave poverty because of the opportunities that existed for their children. Donald Trump’s attempt to marginalize education, cut funding for the next generation of Americans, and erode trust in our public schools is not putting America first – it is putting America last.
The Department of Education was created by an act of Congress and can only be dismantled by an Act of Congress. This overreach of power must be stopped, and we must act to protect the Department of Education and constitutional order.”
