Education News

This week saw the full-court press by the Republican administration to close the Department of Education. Legally, only Congress can do that but, as we have seen, you can dismantle a department to near nothing.

It's a bit funny that the president says that he wants to "return" education to the states. Most of education funding and curriculum ALREADY comes from the states. Sorry he missed that briefing.

From the AP:

In the short term, students, teachers and parents likely won’t see much impact. Long term, it’s harder to predict.

It depends how Education Secretary Linda McMahon distributes the mandated functions of the department to other parts of government, including the states.

The biggest question is how the states will distribute the federal money the department sends to help educate students who are poor, disabled or still learning English and need extra support. School systems with weak property tax bases, including those in rural areas, depend on that money to pay teachers, pay for buses and buy classroom technology.

States such as Mississippi and Alaska depend on this money to fund more than 20% of school districts’ costs. Advocates worry that without federal oversight, state leaders could spend the money on anything they want, including vouchers to attend private school.

On Friday, Trump said the Small Business Administration would take over the $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio. Conservatives, including former Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, have talked about setting up a quasi-private bank to administer loans.

The New York Times is reporting that the president is moving student loans under the Small Business Administration and that Special Education services, with nutrition program, will be placed under the control of Department of Health and Human Services.

The workforce for DOE is now halved and $600M in grants has been eliminated.

The president also said this which I would perceive as a foreshadowing of what is to come:

In the executive order, the president compared the size of the federal student loan portfolio with that of Wells Fargo, the bank — noting that Wells Fargo had over 200,000 employees, while only 1,500 people worked in the Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid.

“The Department of Education is not a bank, and it must return bank functions to an entity equipped to serve America’s students,” the order stated.

"To an entity?" I assume it means a private entity that could make money off this work. 

Washington State Superintendent Chris Reykdal issued a statement, saying

There is no doubt that some of the federal education overreach pushed by presidents of both parties over the last 25 years must be scaled back and brought back to the states. However, that is a policy deliberation that should happen in Congress, and in partnership with the states themselves—not as part of an unprecedented attempt by a President to wield more authority than is granted by the U.S. Constitution or by federal law.

What we are seeing in Washington, D.C. is a cruel chaos that has been intentionally designed to promote a school privatization agenda and undo a 60-year commitment to equity and civil rights that lies at the heart of our democratic system. In other states, that agenda has led to greater divides between student groups along socioeconomic and racial lines. 

"Cruel chaos."

There is a heat map of federal funding in Washington State included in the statement; most of the hardest hit counties will be counties that are solidly GOP.

There was also this news from the NY Times:

Columbia University agreed on Friday to overhaul its protest policies, security practices and Middle Eastern studies department in a remarkable concession to the Trump administration, which has refused to consider restoring $400 million in federal funds without major changes.

The agreement, which stunned and dismayed many members of the faculty, could signal a new stage in the administration’s escalating clash with elite colleges and universities. Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan and dozens of other schools face federal inquiries and fear similar penalties, and college administrators have said Columbia’s response to the White House’s demands may set a dangerous precedent.

On Seattle Schools

- I see that there is a mystery Board meeting next Tuesday the 25th from 3-4 pm. However there is no notation what it is about nor is there yet an agenda. This may be the first step in finding a new superintendent to replace Brent Jones.

- The next night, Wednesday the 26th, will be a community meeting with some directors at Rainier Beach High School at 5:30 pm. This also has no agenda yet so it is unclear what the format of the meeting will be.

My hope is that JSCEE staff have zero to do with the meeting. The directors should run their own engagement meetings.