US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday Dismantling the Ministry of Education in the country Try to present a controversial campaign promise.
The department has always been subjected to its position by the conservatives who argue that education should remain under the control of the state, and that the administration is contaminated with liberal ideas.
Constitutional challenges stand on the path of smooth scroll of Trump’s order. Here all we know:
What does the Ministry of Education do?
The administration is an agency at the cabinet level, which is looking for the national education policy of the United States. It was formed in 1979 by Congress, motivated by former Democratic President Jimmy Carter.
The administration distributes federal loans and education aid, including Pell Grant, which benefits low -income students; Collect data on the American education system; It defines issues in the system; And the imposition of federal education laws related to non -discrimination and civil rights.
Even before Trump signed the executive order on Thursday, his administration was leading attrition to the agency.
Before the opening of Trump, the administration had 4,133 workers. Since its opening, the employees have almost decreased with 600 employees who accepted the voluntary resignation, while the rest has been placed on an administrative leave. As of March 11, there were approximately 2,183 workers in the department.
Functional cuts occur, along with wider workforce cuts throughout the federal government led by Elon Musk and him Ministry of Governmental efficiency (Doge).
What does the executive matter say?
This is called “improving the results of education by empowering parents, countries and societies.” Trump’s long -term ally, Minister of Education, Linda McMahon, calls for facilitating the closure of the administration.
It says that closing the administration will give children and their parents an opportunity to escape from their “failure system”.
The matter says: “The bureaucracy in federal education does not work,” citing the 2024 data from the national educational progress (Naep). The data showed that 70 percent of the eighth graders were less than reading efficiency, and 72 percent were less than mathematics efficiency.
How students work in the United States?
The Naep 2024 report shows that there has been no significant change in how to register students in reading and mathematics since 2022.
But more widely, Naep data shows that since the early seventies of the twentieth century, the average medium grades of the eighth students have not increased significantly or decreased. From 1973, the average mathematics increased steadily until 2012, after which they saw a slight decline and decreased steadily before picking up a little in 2024.
According to the best life index, established by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and published in 2020, the United States ranked eighth out of 41 countries in educational attainment. However, in terms of student skill, the United States ranked 19th. In addition, the average student in the United States was higher than the average Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Reading, Literacy, Mathematics and Science.
In mathematics, the United States ranked 28 out of 37 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2022, according to the Pew Research Center. In science, the United States ranked twelfth in the same year.
What do Americans want?
According to an opinion poll in 2024, by the non -National ALL4D, 58 percent of the respondents through the party lines does not want to cancel the Ministry of Education.
“This is a political theater, not a dangerous public policy,” said Ted Mitchell, head of the Non -profit Higher Education Organization, the American Education Council, in response to Trump’s order.
Mitchell said in a statement on Thursday: “The administration and the Congress must focus on improving the important work that the administration leads to benefit the ordinary Americans, not the discounts unilaterally and not think about the workforce in the administration and its ability to serve the Americans.”
What will happen to students ’loans?
According to Trump’s executive order, loans and grants will continue to be delivered.
The department is the largest source of loans for American university students. The balance of the loan due in the United States is $ 1.69 trillion for about 43 million student borrowers.
The matter says that “it will be ensured that the effective services, programs, programs, and benefits that the Americans depend on.
Trump said on Thursday that these services “will be completely preserved and redistributed to various agencies and other departments that you will take care of well.”
Although it is not clear how this redistribution will come out, Trump said that the countries will take over most of the administration jobs.
What next?
Trump’s order cannot be offered without the approval of Congress, as the legislative body only has a discretionary authority to close an administration at the cabinet level.
Some members of Congress have come forward, saying they will support Trump’s move.
“I agreed to President Trump that the Ministry of Education has failed its mission,” Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said in a press statement.
“Since the administration can only be closed with the approval of Congress, I will support the president’s goals by providing legislation to complete this as soon as possible.”
However, it may not be easy for Trump to obtain the approval of Congress.
If the legislation is presented, you will need 60 members of the Senate of 100 seats to vote to close the section. Only 53 Senate members are Republicans, less than the required majority.
In 2023, the House of Representatives voted to close the agency. This step was not only opposed by Democrats, but also by 60 Republicans. The House of Representatives currently includes 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats.
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