Trump moves to dismantle education dept

WASHINGTON — Flanked by students and educators, US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order intended to dismantle the federal Department of Education, making good on a long-standing campaign promise to conservatives.

The order is designed to leave school policy almost entirely in the hands of states and local boards, a prospect that alarms liberal education advocates.

Thursday's order was the first step "to eliminate" the department, Trump said at a signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House. Shuttering the agency completely requires an act of Congress, and Trump lacks the votes for that.

"We're going to be returning education, very simply, back to the states where it belongs," said Trump in front of a colorful backdrop of state flags.

Young students invited to the event sat at classroom desks encircling the president and signed their own mock executive orders alongside him.

The signing followed the department's announcement last week that it would lay off nearly half of its staff, in step with Trump's sweeping efforts to reduce the size of a federal government he considers to be bloated and inefficient.

The top Democrat in the US Senate called Trump's order on Thursday "destructive and devastating".

"This horrible decision by Donald Trump will be felt by teachers, parents, school leaders, and in the quality of education our children receive," Senator Chuck Schumer said.

Education has long been a political lightning rod in the United States. Conservatives favor local control over education policy and school-choice options that help private and religious schools, and left-leaning voters largely support robust funding for public schools and diversity programs.

The White House argues the Education Department is a waste of money, citing mediocre test scores, disappointing literacy rates and lax math skills among students as proof that the return on the agency's trillions of dollars in investment was poor.

Trump suggested on Thursday that he will still seek to close down the department entirely, and that he wants Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who attended the White House event, to put herself out of a job.

The department oversees some 100,000 public and 34,000 private schools in the US, although more than 85 percent of public school funding comes from state and local governments. It provides federal grants for needy schools and programs, including money to pay teachers of children with special needs, fund arts programs and replace outdated infrastructure.

It also oversees the $1.6 trillion in student loans held by tens of millions of people who cannot afford to pay for college outright.

A majority of the US public does not support closing the department. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found last month that respondents opposed shuttering the Department of Education by roughly two to one — 65 percent to 30 percent.

Agencies Via Xinhua