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The Department of Education plays a vital role in supporting some of Michigan’s most vulnerable students, which is a key reason that education advocates are alarmed by President Donald Trump’s vow to shut it down.

Last week, Trump was reportedly gearing up to sign an executive order to end the department. While this hasn’t happened yet, newly appointed Education Secretary Linda McMahon confirmed to Fox News that the fate of the agency she leads hangs in the balance. 

“He wants me to put myself out of a job,” McMahon said about Trump’s campaign promise to abolish the department. She said diminishing the department’s power would “move education back to the states” and provide educators and students with researched methods to increase test scores.

But McMahon misrepresents what the Department of Education does. K-12 education in America is already largely controlled at the state and local levels. Some of the Department of Education’s current roles include supporting low-income kids and monitoring how schools treat students with disabilities, in addition to providing much-needed funding for schools across the board. 

Ed Trust-Midwest Director of Policy and Research Jen DeNeal joined The Metro to explain what would happen if Trump dismantled the Department of Education.  DeNeal joined the show just hours before the department announced it was firing half of its staff.

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WDET’s Natalie Albrecht contributed to this report.

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The post The Metro: Threats to the Department of Education concern experts and teachers in the state appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.