Trump order seeks to limit federal role in K-12 education

BOSTON GLOBE ^ | april 26, 2018 | ap

[bitt]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that aims to reduce the federal government’s role in K-12 education.

Trump is giving Education Secretary Betsy DeVos just short of a year — 300 days — to identify areas where Washington has overstepped its legal authority in education, and modify and repeal regulations and guidance from her department, if necessary. A report will be returned to the White House and eventually made public, officials said.

Trump complained that the government over the years has forced states and schools to comply with ‘‘federal whims.’’ He said the order will help restore local control over education.

[Sacajaweau]

States come to the Feds for one thing....Money.

I'm still trying to figure out why teachers need aids, a counselor for every child...any say on Ritalin....

And why schools have 8 to 10 kids in a class. Ridiculous.

[SpaceBar]

De-fang, gut, sow with salt, and scatter the public indoctrination system to the four winds. All they are doing is training the next generation of marxist foot soldiers.

[Sequoyah101]

A massive step in the right direction.

Start with no child left behind and move on from there.

[Sequoyah101]

The deportment of edumacation was part of the old HEW and was made a separate department by jimmah carter in 1979 and began the separate role in 1980. Time to just end it.

[EODGUY]

If we had a non-partisan media in OUR nation, President Trump would be lauded daily for his prowess as the leader of our country.

[jazusamo]

Great news!

Secretary DeVos is not bashful, the NEA will be going ballistic by now.

[freedumb2003]

>>The feds, outside of grants for government research, have no business in that realm either.<<

Yep. There should be NO federal scholarships nor federally guaranteed. If the states want to pony up, fine. If the institutions want to give scholarships for talnted people, even better.

Post-secondary education is NOT a federal imperative.

And we are fools for thinking college is the only post-HS option. There should be a 2-track system: college or trade with equal support at all levels.

[Sequoyah101]

60 years ago we made it just fine with one teacher per class of about 30 or even more, one principal, one secretary, one janitor and three cafeteria cooks. We had history, PE, recess three times a day, art, music, geography and social studies plus the basics. The school had 500+ children in it and ran like a well oiled watch. Offenses were punished and good behavior was expected. Nasty teachers were disciplined or moved out.

The principal was a WWII combat vet and we all respected him but did not fear him. I had great memories of that school.

[SecAmndmt]

Vouchers are control. No thanks.

Do away with property taxes, and privatize the aystem.

[Living Free in NH]

Don’t get too excited. I’m sure there’s a federal judge out there ready to rule this unconstitutional. Unconstitutional how or why? I have no idea. Doesn’t really matter.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Mr. President, here is my report on where the federal government has overstepped its authority in public education: “The Department of Education. I recommend disbanding and permanently terminating it.” Signed, Betsy DeVos

PS. My report was delivered 299 days early.

[Dapper 26]

We Americans, of every color and race, need to step up and take responsibility for our children, NOT allow the state to do so. PARENTS are the TEACHERS of our kids. Schools are the educators of our kids. We need to keep government out of TEACHING our kids but hold the responsible for their EDUCATION. There is a BIG difference between teaching and education.

[Dapper 26]

Truth be known, most of them ALREADY agree with President Trump.

[rockinqsranch]

This article is a year old.

[Petrosius]

to identify areas where Washington has overstepped its legal authority in education

Everything that Washington does concerning education oversteps its legal, i.e. constitutional, authority. Close the Department of Education.

[metmom]

WOW!

Something for homeschoolers to be aware of.

And it is well past time.

[wastedyears]

Trump is giving Education Secretary Betsy DeVos just short of a year — 300 days — to identify areas where Washington has overstepped its legal authority in education, and modify and repeal regulations and guidance from her department, if necessary.

Having a department of education in the first place - get rid of it. Do I win a lunch with the president now?

[uncbob]

RNC needs full time ads trumpeting this fact this

[OregonRancher]

If you’ve ever wondered where the money goes, this is the response from my asking that, on a local level.

” Currently, we the total formula revenue we receive from the state per student is $7,997. Because the funding is tied to our enrolled students our funding fluctuates based on the number of students enrolled in our schools every day. The Federal Funding we receive is not for every student - those funds can only be used for the students being served by whatever program the federal funding is being provided for. Another challenge we face is that our funding from the State is a zero sum game - by that I mean that if our property tax collections locally increase, the state decreases the amount of funding we receive. And things like our poverty rate affect our funding. So for example, I found out in December that because the Federal government determined that our poverty rate had decreased, the State is going to be taking back nearly $1.2 million in funding that had already been committed to our District. That money will then be reallocated out to Districts that the Federal Government determined their poverty rate had increased. I have to deal with these fluctuations in funding every year - I can get a notice out of the blue that our funding is going to be either reduced or increased at any time during the year.

So - all that being said - the other expenses per classroom that we have to pay for are:

Teacher’s Aides - in some cases, for those students with special needs we have to have 2 aides per student; in our elementary schools if enrollment in a class goes over a certain threshold we have to increase the aide time for those classes also;

Aides on the playground - we have to provide adequate adult supervision while the students are outside during lunch and breaks - we have to provide staffing for that;

Custodians - we have to maintain our buildings and grounds so we have to have adequate custodial staff to clean our buildings and maintain the grounds;

Food Service Staff - all of our students are eligible for free breakfast and lunch - we have to provide the staff to prepare the food and serve the food; we also have to purchase the supplies so we have adequate ingredients to prepare meals - our kitchen staff are truly amazing - we access grant funds to provide our students with local fresh fruit and vegetables as a supplemental program so that they can experience what real farm grown food tastes like - many of our students have never seen food in a garden - we also have gardens at our schools to provide our students with this experience;

Maintenance - we have to provide for routine maintenance on our buildings and grounds that are outside the scope of what our custodians are able accomplish within a day - we have to have adequate staff for this. They are the ones that our out there servicing our old boilers; creating new spaces for special needs programs; creating outdoor spaces for our special needs students; repairing irrigation lines; servicing our wells when we have issues with things like well pumps;

Transportation - we have to transport our students to school and home each day - we have to buy the buses and provide the drivers for those buses. And for our students with special needs, we have to provide aides on the buses to attend to their needs;

Technology - we have to provide adequate access to technology so that our students can learn the skills they need to be able to compete in a 21st century world - this means we need staff to get the devices ready for the classroom including installing program that prevent the student from accessing nefarious websites as well as providing the infrastructure for technology - including installing infrastructure for wireless access as well as making sure the devices are repaired (we don’t buy new technology every year - we repair what we have and make it last as long as possible);

Library techs - we have to staff our libraries so that our students have access to the books they need to further their education and to simply enrich their educational experience - our libraries also provide a wealth of technology support to our classrooms;

Counselors - we have to provide counseling for our students at the High School so that they can make informed choices about their plans for high school that will prepare them for college or careers after high school. We have counselors that provide mental health support and support for students battling addictions - not all of our students come from stable homes - we have many students that are homeless and in foster care - we have students that come from homes where they are enduring unimaginable forms of physical, mental, and sexual abuse - that takes a HUGE emotional toll on those kids - we try to provide the support they need so their minds are ready to learn.

Special Education services - we have many students who are non-ambulatory and non-verbal - with a vast variety of health and emotional issues. We have to provide staff to deal with trach tubes, G(feeding) tubes; catheters and all manner of toileting services. We have diabetic students who have to have staff to help them with insulin and carb counting; we have students with traumatic brain injuries and seizure disorders and heart conditions - we have to have staff to support these students. We have many autistic students - in many instances we have two staff members to one working with these children. We have to employ Psychologists, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Braillists, staff that work with our Deaf and Hard of Hearing population, and Autism specialists. We have to provide Transitional Services for our special needs students who are between the ages of 18 and 21 - we have to provide staff to serve these students;

Students with English as a Second Language - we have to provide staff to work specifically with and support students coming to use who don’t have English as their first language - in some cases, these students don’t have no English speaking capability;

Office and printing needs - because so much of our curriculum is digital now - we have to have print services for those lessons where the teacher actually needs a printed document. We have an in house print shop that provides these services (they are amazing, by the way) - we also provide print services to other school districts - and we do charge those districts for those services;

Athletics - as do all schools in the Nation - our students participate in a variety of athletic endeavors - we have to provide coaches and support staff for these activities. If you ask any education professional - they will tell you that athletics are the hook that keep a large number of students coming to school each day. Extra-curricular activities are foundational to a well-rounded education experience.

Safety - we employ security personnel and our District is unique in that we partner with our local public safety department to provide plain clothes, retired, armed police officers at our schools. Unfortunately, our new reality is that we have to be prepared for an active shooter situation.

This is where the money is going to serve students - the needs are great and in some instances the cost to educate these students is extremely expensive depending on their level of need - it is not an option for us to not provide these services - Federal and State law govern the programs that we have to provide.

I would encourage anyone who is questioning how any school district spends their money - to come and visit the schools - we would love for everyone to see the challenges we face on a day to day basis. Come and talk to the business officials and administrators - find out what the business of education looks like in the 21st Century. While our administrators and supervisors could be considered part of the 10% - what they do to support our students, teachers, and families is truly amazing. They are the most dedicated group of individuals I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I know you didn’t ask about this specifically - but I would be remiss if I did not comment on the challenges they face on a day to day basis - from getting assaulted by students with special needs to enduring the verbal abuse from the parents who are strung out on drugs - they have to endure parent embroiled in custody battles who bring those fights to the schools. Our public safety department officers are so quick to respond - but it still takes a toll. But despite all that - they still come to work every day with a smile on their face because they know that for some of these kids the only safety and stability they have in their lives is at their school.

I appreciate your questions and the fact that you are taking the initiative to become more educated about what our business entails.”

[Amendment10]

Military training aside, here is all that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s report has to say about federal role in cradle-to-grave INTRAstate education.

President Thomas Jefferson had officially indicated that the states would first need to appropriately amend the Constitution in order for Congress to have the power to dictate policy, tax and spend in the name of intrastate schooling, something that the states have never done.

• On a few articles of more general and necessary use, the suppression in due season will doubtless be right, but the great mass of the articles on which impost is paid is foreign luxuries, purchased by those only who are rich enough to afford themselves the use of them. Their patriotism would certainly prefer its continuance and application to the great purposes of the public education, roads, rivers, canals, and such other objects of public improvement as it may be thought proper to add to the constitutional enumeration of federal powers [emphases added].”—Thomas Jefferson : Sixth Annual Message to Congress

• “Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States.” Justice John Marshall, Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.

• ”From the accepted doctrine that the United States is a government of delegated powers, it follows that those not expressly granted, or reasonably to be implied from such as are conferred, are reserved to the states, or to the people. To forestall any suggestion to the contrary, the Tenth Amendment was adopted. The same proposition, otherwise stated, is that powers not granted are prohibited [emphasis added].” —United States v. Butler, 1936.

Additionally, Pres. Jefferson and constitutional lawmaker Rep. John Bingham had clarified that the Founding States had left the care of the people uniquely to the states, not the federal government.

• "Our citizens have wisely formed themselves into one nation as to others and several States as among themselves. To the united nation belong our external and mutual relations; to each State, severally, the care of our persons [emphasis added], our property, our reputation and religious freedom.” —Thomas Jefferson: To Rhode Island Assembly, 1801.

• ”... the care of the property, the liberty, and the life of the citizen, under the solemn sanction of an oath imposed by your Federal Constitution, is in the States, and not in the Federal Government [emphases added].” —Rep. John Bingham, Congressional Globe, 1866. (See about middle of 3rd column.)

The reason that the unconstitutionally big federal government now has its big, unwanted nose in intrastate education is this imo. The 16th and ill-conceived 17th Amendments gave corrupt lawmakers a way to exploit low-information voters.

More specifically, career federal lawmakers get themselves elected and reelected by promising such voters financial assistance for school, such voters evidently not understanding that the states have never given the feds the express constitutional authority to tax, spend and dictate policy for intrastate schooling purposes, evidenced by the Jefferson excerpt above.

To not only get the constitutionally limited power federal government out of the affairs of the sovereign states, but also to make the president’s vision for MAGA last for many generations, it is recommended that Pres. Trump lead the states to repeal the 16th and 17th Amendments.