Experts and educators across the state and Bay Area fear that the potential closure of the Department of Education will impact some of the most vulnerable students.
The White House confirmed Wednesday that President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order on Thursday closing the Education Department, fulfilling a yearslong pledge to dismantle the agency.
The order would direct Education Secretary Lunda McMahon to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure the Department of Education and return education authority to the States while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
"It’s sad, I’m sad," said David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association. "I know how much harder it’s going to be and how much we’re going to have to struggle for special ed students to get what they deserve in the classroom."
The Department of Education distributed money to schools to assist students with disabilities and to schools with high rates of low-income children. However, according to Travis Bristol, an associate professor of education at the University of California, Berkeley, it does not dictate the curriculum used in classrooms.
"The U.S. Dept of Education plays no role in teaching what happens in classrooms in Oakland, in classrooms in Palo Alto. What it does is it provides resources for children who are at the margin to move closer to the center, and resources matter," Bristol said.
The president's move comes a little more than a week after the Education Department announced a drastic reduction in its workforce. The federal agency also runs the public student loan program, which has more consumer protection and lower interest rates than private education loan programs.
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The order will also ensure that the agency's funds do not go towards programs or activities that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion goals or gender ideology.
Bristol said the move could have serious impacts on families in California.
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"It’s March when I’m preparing to go to college if I don't know if I have the resources from the federal govt through FAFSA, a Pell Grant…if I don't know if I have the resources to attend college, I may then decide not to attend college," he said.
In the meantime, Goldberg said the association will be reaching out to local representatives.
"We have folks here in our state, congresspeople, who need to be told to do their job, to not just allow a president to go rogue and basically cut programs that serve our most vulnerable students," he said.
