The Trump administration announced its latest effort to dismantle the Department of Education, explaining that new interagency agreements seek to break up federal bureaucracy.
The new partnerships with the Departments of Labor (DOL), Interior (DOI), Health and Human Services (HHS), and State will improve management of education programs by leveraging the skills presented within the other Departments.
According to the Education Department, the DOL will take part in the Elementary and Secondary Education Partnership to “empower parents and states, promote innovation, and deliver program improvements in pursuit of better outcomes for students in elementary and secondary education,” a press release on the matter explains. The DOL will further participate in a Postsecondary Education Partnership.
With DOI, the Education Department will launch the Indian Education Partnership to solidify the agency as the “key point of contact for Tribes and Native students.”
With HHS, the Education Department will establish the Foreign Medical Accreditation Partnership and the Child Care Access Means Parents in School Partnership.
Alongside the State Department, the Department of Education will create the International Education and Foreign Language Studies Partnership.
“The Trump Administration is taking bold action to break up the federal education bureaucracy and return education to the states,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated. “Cutting through layers of red tape in Washington is one essential piece of our final mission. As we partner with these agencies to improve federal programs, we will continue to gather best practices in each state through our 50-state tour, empower local leaders in K-12 education, restore excellence to higher education, and work with Congress to codify these reforms. Together, we will refocus education on students, families, and schools – ensuring federal taxpayer spending is supporting a world-class education system.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March to begin dismantling the Department of Education.
“Closing the Department of Education would provide children and their families the opportunity to escape a system that is failing them,” the order declared, adding, “Ultimately, the Department of Education’s main functions can, and should, be returned to the States.”
