Archives for the year of: 2024
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Wisconsin: Court Overturns Scott Walker’s Anti-Union Law

By dianeravitch
December 15, 2024 //
8

Good news in Wisconsin! A local court overturned a notorious piece of anti-union legislation that was passed in 2011, at the instance of then-Governor Scott Walker. At the time, union protestors encircled the Statehouse to protest. Walker was unmoved. He celebrated the defeat of the state’s unions (excluding police and firefighters).

The Guardian writes:

As the labor movement braces for a second Trump term, union members and their leaders are celebrating a major victory over a controversial law that stripped public sector unions of collective bargaining rights.

In response to a lawsuit alleging that a notorious law passed by the former Republican governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker in 2011 is unconstitutional, a county judge ruled on Monday that more than 60 sections of the law and several sections of a follow-up law in 2015, Act 55, are unconstitutional.

Walker called the decision “brazen political activism at its worst” and Republicans plan an appeal.

Thousands protested the introduction of the law, which crippled unions’ funding and powers. Following the passage of Act 10, several Republican-dominated states pushed to pass similar legislation, including Florida which passed a similar law in May 2023 targeting public sector unions, and Iowa, which passed legislation that took away collective bargaining rights from many state employees in 2017.

Act 10 stripped collective bargaining rights from thousands of state employees in Wisconsin, limiting their ability to bargain solely on wage increases that cannot exceed inflation. It also forced public sector labor unions to annually vote, with a majority of members participating and voting, to maintain certification.

“We were kind of just demonized, not just teachers, but public sector workers in general,” said John Havlicek, a high school Spanish teacher in La Crosse, Wisconsin and former president of the La Crosse Education Association which represents teachers in the school district. “Teachers don’t go into it for the money but I also have groceries to buy and bills to pay and stuff like that. A lot of public sector workers, in my experience teachers, really felt like we were being scapegoated. It was really bad.”

The act has had a significant impact on union membership, pay and benefits. In 2010 Wisconsin had a union density rate of 15.1%. That number dropped to 8.4% in 2023.

The law also forced public sector workers to pay more for healthcare and retirement benefits, resulting in around an 8.5% decrease in their pay for workers making $50,000 a year.

An April 2024 report by the Wisconsin department of public instruction found teacher pay had declined from 2010 to 2022 by nearly 20% and about four out of every 10 first year teachers either leave the state or the profession after six years.

Public school funding also drastically declined in Wisconsin after Act 10 was enacted. Per pupil spending in Wisconsin out paced the national average by around $1,100 per student in 2011 and was $327 per pupil lower than the national average in 2021.

The verdict could be overturned on appeal. Stay tuned.

Categories Unions, Walker, Scott, Wisconsin

Chalkbeat: Republicans Promote Religion in the Public Schools

By dianeravitch
December 15, 2024 //
8

It is absolutely appropriate to study about religion in history classes in public schools. History has been deeply influenced by religious groups, for good and ill.

But it is not okay to promote religion in public schools. That’s indoctrination.

State leaders in red states want to restore religious practice into the schools, despite the fact that students come from many different faith traditions, or none at all.

This movement is led by evangelical Christians.

Chalkbeat reports:

The Texas State Board of Education gave its approval to a Bible-infused curriculum for elementary students in the latest test of the line between church and state in public school classrooms. Proponents of the new curriculum say they’re not looking to proselytize or convert students. The Bible is a foundational text of western civilization, and understanding it is key to understanding everything from common phrases in the English language to major developments in history and society, they argue.

“Scrubbing biblical references from school curriculum may seem like a step toward inclusivity, but given how deeply such phrases and allusion are embedded in the language, such an effort would more likely impose a form of illiteracy on students,” American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Robert Pondiscio wrote earlier this year in The 74.

But opponents say the curriculum goes much further than simply helping students understand Biblical references. Jewish Texans and other religious minorities say the curriculum treats Christianity as a default truth. Writing in The Forward, Caryn Tamber-Rosenau, a Jewish Biblical scholar based in Houston, argues that the curriculum imposes 21st century American sensibilities on a challenging, ancient textwhile ignoring “the actual biblical material in favor of grafting onto biblical Israel what Protestant Christians do in churches today — what a coincidence.”

The Bluebonnet Learning curriculum is optional, but school districts will get a financial incentive for adopting it. 

Meanwhile, a federal judge found that Louisiana’s law requiring that schools display the Ten Commandments is unconstitutional, but an appeals court said the law will be on hold only in the school districts that sued. Most schools in the state will have to display the Biblical mandates while the court case works its way through the system. 

And Oklahomans are suing over a requirement that schools in that state teach the Bible — and not just any Bible. The state’s request for proposals was so narrow that one of the few Bibles that fit the requirement was a $60 edition endorsed by president-elect Donald Trump.

Just think: Trump will get a cut on every Bible sold to the state of Oklahoma!

Categories Bigotry, Ethics, Extremism, Religion, Separation of church and state

Rick Wilson: Trump in “Paradise Lost”

By dianeravitch
December 15, 2024 //
4

Rick Wilson was one of the founders of The Lincoln Project and one of the leaders of the fallen-away Republicans. He posted this remarkable comparison of Trumpworld to hell in Milton’s Paradise Lost. I didn’t post it all. To finish reading, open the link.

Yesterday, Simon Heffer’s piece in The Telegraph nailed it: Milton’s Paradise Lost reads like a grim prophecy for our current era of authoritarianism and right-wing spectacle. 

I promise, this isn’t too much of a classics rabbit hole. 

Inspired, I dusted off my old, heavily annotated copy and dove back in. The pages hadn’t seen the light of day in 3 decades. It’s a bit of a slog for modern readers—Milton wasn’t writing for a TikTok audience—but the timeless truths cut through like a knife.

The opening act of Paradise Lost is a strategy meeting in Hell, led by Satan himself and attended by a rogues’ gallery of fallen angels. It’s a masterclass in manipulation, sycophancy, and passive-aggressive ambition—all wrapped in enough rhetorical flourish to choke a camel. Sound familiar? 


If you’ve ever suffered through a senior-level government meeting, you’d feel right at home. Except this one is in Pandemonium, the capital of Hell—a place I imagine would look like the worst Trump Transition meeting, complete with gilded tackiness and the faint stench of sulfur. (Or mildew, if you’re at Mar-a-Lago.)

The debate? Oh, it’s a lively one. Some fallen angels suggest making Hell a bit more livable—think “evil gentrification.” Others want to launch a full-frontal assault on Heaven, declaring war on an unbeatable opponent. 

Then comes the actual meeting: targeting God’s shiny new creation—us. The idea of corrupting humanity, God’s most beloved project, becomes the chosen strategy. And who volunteers for the job? Satan himself, of course. It was always his plan. When a direct assault on Heaven fails, attacking mankind becomes the ultimate revenge. As Satan puts it:

“To waste his whole creation, or possess
All as our own, and drive, as we were driven,
The puny habitants, or if not drive,
Seduce them to our party, that their God
May prove their foe, and with repenting hand
Abolish his own works.
This would surpass common revenge, and interrupt his joy.”

Does this sound a little… familiar? 

It should. The parallels to today’s politics are as subtle as a sledgehammer. The fallen angels in this story aren’t just characters—they’re prototypes. Swap out Beelzebub and Belial for the MAGA brain trust, and you get the same toxic mix of ambition, incompetence, and amorality.

The MAGA operatives, family sycophants, billionaire bootlickers, scamfluencers, and D.C. operatives dreaming of internment camps and deadly revenge which are lining up for Trump’s Cabinet will make Milton’s Hell look like a model of compassion and efficiency. 

These are people whose qualifications are as dubious as their morals and whose plans are as dangerous as they are chaotic. Their guidebook for wrecking the American system? 

The infamous Project 2025. Remember that? They denied it, of course—counting on the credulous to buy their lies—but it’s as real as Satan’s envy in Paradise Lost.

And speaking of Satan, let’s not tiptoe around it: Trump is the Prince of Darkness in this particular drama. He wants nothing more than to destroy everything in his path. It’s not always coherent, but it’s always him.

His advisors inside and outside his transition —Susie Wiles, Stephen Miller, Steve Bannon, Stephen Cheung, and the rest of his court—mimic the infernal chatter of Moloch, Belial, and Beelzebub. Like their hellish counterparts, their rhetoric is a corruption of America, their plans for an endless era of cruel spectacle, and their motives are rooted in hatred for the good. Just as Satan hated God and Heaven, Trump despises the institutions, norms, and values that have long preserved this country.

He’s backed by a parliament of Cabinet members and advisors dreaming of a post-American, post-republican, and post-democratic world. (Yes, the lowercase “r” in Republican and “d” in Democratic was deliberate.) Trump’s attention span may be short, but their ability to execute the commander’s intent will be boundless. They, and he, hate this country as it exists today. 

What does he love? 

Power. Obedience. Subjugation. Wealth. Immunity from consequences. These are the dark desires of every dictator, tyrant, and abuser in history. And Trump revels in them. His demonic minions—think Elon Musk as Moloch—are already busy concocting spectacles of suffering and chaos across America.

Meanwhile, we’re stuck debating the quality (or lack thereof) of Trump’s Cabinet picks and whether Joe Biden’s pardon of Hunter makes him Worse Than Trump. (Spoiler: it’ doesn’t.)

Almost none of them would survive scrutiny in a rational world. But here’s the thing: their very terribleness is the point. Trump’s goal isn’t just to govern badly—it’s to corrupt every institution they touch. By forcing Americans to accept criminals, incompetents, and lunatics as leaders, he’s marking this country indelibly. This is his revenge, his legacy: a nation bent to his will and broken beyond repair.

Categories Competition, Corruption, Cruelty, Disruption, Elections, Evil, Trump

If RFK Is Confirmed, the Anti-Science Movement Will Control Medical Research

By dianeravitch
December 14, 2024 //
8

There’s online speculation that the Senate is warning to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., despite his reputation as an opponent of vaccines. RFK thinks he knows more than scientists and physicians, but he is a crank and a crackpot with no medical or scientific training.

He is well established in the world of phony cures for COVID.

If this kook is confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services, many people will die.

Categories Elections, Ethics, Extremism, Fraud, Health, Science, Trump

Jeff Tiedrich: Biden Should Pardon Everyone on Trump’s “Enemies List”

By dianeravitch
December 14, 2024 //
31

Jeff Tiedrich proposes in his blog that President Biden should operate a “pardon factory” to protect everyone who has been threatened by Trump or Kash Patel.

One of the features of democracy is an assumption that parties will contend for power, accept their win or loss graciously, then prepare for next time. There will always be the next election to try again.

The threats by Trump and his toadies to prosecute his critics disrupts the comity on which a democratic system depends.

Trump thinks of his critics as “enemies,” not critics. He has made clear repeatedly that he will use his power as President to prosecute, imprison, and crush his enemies.

He said recently that the members of the January 6 Commission “should be in jail.” Why? Is it normal or acceptable that a mob summoned by the President descends on the U.S. Capitol as they meet to certify the election, smash through the windows and doors, beat up police officers, and rampage through the building? What was criminal? The summoning of the mob? The actions of the mob? Or the investigation of the events of the day?

Biden, writes Tiedrich, should issue pre-emptive pardons to all those whose lives and freedom might be endangered by Trump, Kash Patel, or Pam Bondi.

The next four years will be a trial for our democracy. Will the norms and institutions survive the reign of this bitter, vindictive old man?

Categories Accountability, Bias, Cruelty, Democracy, Disruption, Elections, Ethics, Extremism, Fascism, Injustice, Trump

Florida: Candidate for Congress Wants to Cancel College Aid for Dreamers

By dianeravitch
December 14, 2024 //
2

Florida is one of 18 states that allow the children of undocumented immigrants to receive a lower tuition rate on state colleges. That law is under attack by Randy Fine, a state legislator who is running for Congress. Fine is an ardent supporter of Trump.

The Orlando Sentinel reported:

TALLAHASSEE — For a decade, children brought into the country illegally by their undocumented parents could enroll in a state college or university for the same fee as in-state residents, if they attended a Florida high school for three years.

But now, State Sen. Randy Fine, a Brevard County Republican who plans to resign mid-session to run for Congress, wants to repeal that law and end the educational benefit designed to help young immigrants known as “dreamers.”

Fine wants to end “sweetheart deals for college degrees to those who should not even be here,” he said in an email put out by his senate aide. “President Trump has made clear it is time to close the border and stop giving illegal immigrants rewards for breaking the law.”

His bill revives an effort to squelch the dreamers’ benefit that Gov. Ron DeSantis and some other Republicans tried — and failed — to make part of an immigration reform package in 2023.

Fine claimed the state spent $45 million to provide out-of-state tuition waivers to undocumented college and university students in 2021, but his staff did not respond to questions about the source of that figure.

Fine, a combative conservative who calls himself the “Hebrew Hammer,” filed a bill Monday that would repeal the waiver, which was signed into law in 2014 — two years before he was elected to the Legislature. The law was sponsored by Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez when she was a state senator. It was approved with bipartisan support and signed into law by then-Gov. Rick Scott, now the junior GOP senator from Florida.

Under the law, undocumented students who attended a Florida high school for three years and enrolled in a state college or university within 24 months of graduation would pay in-state tuition rates. But they are not eligible for state financial aid.

Without that waiver, they would pay out-of-state rates that are three to four times more. At the University of Central Florida, for example, the in-state rate is about $6,300 while out-of-state tuition is over $22,000…

More than 43,000 undocumented students are currently enrolled in Florida’s public colleges or universities, according to the American Immigration Council and the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. They make up just a sliver of the more than 1 million enrolled.

The state university system said it issued 2,005 nonresident tuition waivers last year but does not track how many of them went to undocumented students. The state also doesn’t track of the number of undocumented students enrolled in its universities.

Florida has already invested millions of dollars into the K-12 education of these students, and the 2014 law was seen as an incentive to get them to stay in Florida and complete their postsecondary education, said Renata Bozzetto, deputy director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

The result is a “a higher educated population and individuals who can pursue a career while working on their immigration status,” Bozzetto said.

Florida’s undocumented workers contribute $1 billion in spending power and $113 million in state and local taxes, according to the American Immigration Council….

“It’s a publicity stunt,” Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Democrat from Orlando, said of Fine’s new bill. “I’d be surprised if my Republican colleagues in the Senate even give it a hearing. It’s a mean-spirited and petty attack on immigrants that really defines the MAGA base.”

All in-state residents pay a tuition rate lower than the cost of their education, so state taxpayers are subsidizing all of them, and there is not a limit on the number of students who can receive in-state tuition, he said.

“They are paying tuition like every other student ,” Smith said. “They are not taking something away from other Floridians.”

Categories Cruelty, Ethics, Extremism, Florida, Funding, Higher Education, Immigration

Wonkette: Trump’s New Line of Fragrances Sells Out!

By dianeravitch
December 14, 2024 //
18

Trump is marketing so many different kinds of merchandise that it’s hard to keep track. Trump sneakers, the Trump Bible, Trump watches, Trump NFT cards, Trump coins, Trump guitars, and now: Trump fragrances. Some say that they are Trump’s own smell, but who would pay for that? Remember that Michael Wolf, his”former lawyer, called him “Mr. Schitzenpants.” You have to be very committed to MAGA to want to pay for his smell!

Blogger Wonkette, aka Robyn Pennacchia, wrote:

Last week, Donald Trump reportedly sold out of Victory, his official fragrance, the male version of which featured a tiny gold replica of his head. 

In response, he’s already released a new fragrance, this one called “FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!” and is selling it online only for $199. That’s certainly a choice just a month after campaigning on the economy being terrible and everything being too expensive…

Of course, the thing that separates Donald Trump’s fragrances from any other fragrance in that price range is that it’s relatively easy to find out what those fragrances smell like — whereas GetTrumpColognes.com has absolutely no description of what the men’s cologne smells like, and barely any description at all of what the women’s perfume smells like. 

Here is how the men’s cologne is described:

Introducing FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT – FOR MEN, the bold new fragrance from Trump Fragrances. For Patriots who never back down, like President Trump. This scent is your rallying cry in a bottle. Featuring Trump’s iconic image and raised fist, this limited-edition cologne embodies strength, power, and victory.

Crafted for those who stand tall, this bold scent delivers rich, robust notes that leave a lasting impression. It’s not just a cologne—it’s a symbol of resilience. Inspired by Trump’s relentless drive, wear it with pride and confidence.

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT COLOGNE: For men who fight to win and never surrender.

Shipping NOW. Makes the perfect Christmas gift!

What does it smell like? No one knows! But if it smells anything like how those who have been in the near vicinity of Donald Trump describe, it’s not good. Asked by Jimmy Kimmel to describe Trump’s “pungent odor,” Adam Kinzinger responded “So, if you take, like, armpits, ketchup, makeup and a little butt, it’s probably like that, all mixed up” — which sounds bad! MSNBC’s Alex Wagner said, “He smells like cooking oil,” which is slightly better but not much. Former “Apprentice” staffer Noel Casler said that Trump was known to wear a diaper, and occasionally did not change himself often enough and smelled pretty bad because of that.

Open the link to finish reading.

Categories For-Profit, Trump

World’s Richest Man is Scrooge!

By dianeravitch
December 14, 2024 //
12

Elon Musk recently became the first person to post a net worth of $400 billion. Tax laws require foundations to give away 5% of their assets every year. Surely, a man with that kind of fabulous wealth must be a major donor to the arts, medical research, homelessness, or education? Not him.

The New York Times reported that Musk’s foundation has repeatedly failed to meet the 5% mark. It gives only in its own neighborhood and to the private school that Musk intends to create.

The Times reports:

For the third year in a row, Elon Musk’s charitable foundation did not give away enough of its money.

And it did not miss the mark by a small amount.

New tax filings show that the Musk Foundation fell $421 million short of the amount it was required to give away in 2023. Now, Mr. Musk has until the end of the year to distribute that money, or he will be required to pay a sizable penalty to the Internal Revenue Service.

Mr. Musk, in his new role as a leader of what President-elect Donald J. Trump is calling the Department of Government Efficiency, is promising to downsize and rearrange the entire federal government — including the I.R.S. But the tax records show he has struggled to meet a basic I.R.S. rule that is required of all charity leaders, no matter how small or big their foundations.

Mr. Musk’s is one of the biggest. His foundation has more than $9 billion in assets, including millions of shares in Tesla, his electric vehicle company. By law, all private foundations must give away 5 percent of those assets every year. The aim is to ensure that wealthy donors like Mr. Musk use these organizations to help the public instead of simply benefiting from the tax deductions they are afforded…

The I.R.S. appears to be among Mr. Musk’s early targets as a leader of Mr. Trump’s government efficiency initiative. The tax agency serves as the federal government’s charity regulator and thus oversees Mr. Musk’s foundation.

Mr. Musk, who on Wednesday became the first person with a net worth of over $400 billion, has been an unusual philanthropist. He has been critical of the effectiveness of large charitable gifts, and his foundation maintains a minimal, plain-text website that offers very little about its overarching philosophy. That is different from some other large foundations that seek to have national or even worldwide impact by making large gifts to causes like public health, education or the arts.

The Musk Foundation’s largess primarily stays closer to home. The tax filings show that last year the group gave at least $7 million combined to charities near a launch site in South Texas used by Mr. Musk’s company SpaceX.

Mr. Musk’s charity, which he founded in 2002, has never hired paid employees, according to tax filings.

Its three directors — Mr. Musk and two people who work for his family office — all work for free. The filings show they did not spend very much time on the foundation: just two hours and six minutes per week for the past three years.

By giving its foundation Tesla stock, Musk has saved about $2 billion in federal taxes.

Musk gives away as little as possible.

Do you think the IRS might investigate him in the next four years?

Categories Accountability, Arts Education, Billionaires, Character, Ethics, Failure, Musk, Elon

RFK’s Top Lawyer Has Sued to Block Vaccine Approvals and Mandates

By dianeravitch
December 13, 2024 //
17

The New York Times reported that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s’s lawyer Aaron Siri has repeatedly sued to block vaccines and mandates. Siri is now advising Kennedy as he selects high-level personnel for the Department of Heslth and Human Services. Kennedy’s reliance on Siri demonstrates that his opposition to vaccines has not waned and will animate his actions should he be confirmed.

The story begins:

The lawyer helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pick federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine, which for decades has protected millions of people from a virus that can cause paralysis or death.

That campaign is just one front in the war that the lawyer, Aaron Siri, is waging against vaccines of all kinds.

Mr. Siri has also filed a petition seeking to pause the distribution of 13 other vaccines; challenged, and in some cases quashed, Covid vaccine mandates around the country; sued federal agencies for the disclosure of records related to vaccine approvals; and subjected prominent vaccine scientists to grueling videotaped depositions….

At the Trump transition headquarters in Florida, Mr. Siri has joined Mr. Kennedy in questioning and choosing candidates for top health positions, according to someone who observed the interactions but insisted on anonymity to disclose private conversations. They have asked candidates about their views of vaccines, the person said.

Are Kennedy and Siri determined to exclude those who understand the value of vaccines? No doubt.

“I love Aaron Siri,” Mr. Kennedy said in a clip played on a recent episode of a podcast hosted by Del Bigtree, who is Mr. Kennedy’s former campaign communications director and the founder of the Informed Consent Action Network, which describes itself as a “medical freedom” nonprofit. “There’s nobody who’s been a greater asset to the medical freedom movement than him.”

Like Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Siri insists he does not want to take vaccines away from anyone who wants them. “You want to get the vaccine — it’s America, a free country.” he told Arizona legislators last year after laying out his concerns about the vaccines for polio and other illnesses.

The Times notes that Siri has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw approval of the polio vaccine as well as the vaccine for Hepatitis B.

Let me reiterate: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a dangerous crackpot. His beliefs kill.

Categories Elections, Health, Science

Peter Greene: Will Trump Achieve His Education Goals?

By dianeravitch
December 13, 2024 //
10

Peter Greene writes about the contradiction at the heart of Trump’s education goals. On the one hand, Trump says he will eliminate the Department of Education and turn federal funding over to the states, to use as they wish. At the same time, he says that he will punish schools if they persist in teaching liberal ideas that Trump dislikes, like diversity, equity and inclusion, or if they are insufficiently patriotic.

How will he punish schools if the federal funding has been relinquished to the states?

Greene writes:

It has been on the conservative To Do list for decades, and the incoming administration keeps insisting that this time it’s really going to happen. But will it? Over the weekend, Trump’s Ten Principles for Education video from Agenda 47 was circulating on line as a new “announcement” or “confirmation” of his education policy, despite the fact that the video was posted in September of 2023.

The list of goals may or may not be current, but it underlines a basic contradiction at the heart of Trump’s education plans. The various goals can be boiled down to two overall objectives:

1) To end all federal involvement and oversight of local schools.

2) To exert tight federal control over local schools

Trump has promised that schools will not teach “political indoctrination,” that they will teach students to “love their country,” that there will be school prayer, that students will “have access to” project-based learning, and that schools will expel students who harm teachers or other students. 

He has also proposed stripping money from colleges and universities that indoctrinate students and using the money to set up a free of charge “world class education” system.

Above all, he has promised that he “will be closing up” the Department of Education. Of course, he said that in 2016 with control of both houses of Congress and it did not happen.

Are there obstacles? The Department of Education distributes over $18 billion to help support schools that educate high-poverty populations, providing benefits like extra staff to supplement reading instruction. The Project 2025 plan is to turn this into a block grant to be given to the states to use as they wish, then zeroed out. Every state in the country would feel that pinch; states that decide to use the money for some other purpose entirely, such as funding school vouchers, will feel the pinch much sooner. The department also handles over $15 billion in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding, which helps cover the costs of special education; Project 2025 also calls for turning it into an unregulated block grant to states with no strings attached, meaning that parents would have to lobby their state government for special ed funding.

Cuts and repurposing of these funds will be felt immediately in classrooms across the country, particularly those that serve poor students and students with special needs. That kind of readily felt, easily understood impact is likely to fuel pushback in Congress, and it’s Congress that has the actual power to eliminate the department.

Beyond the resistance to changing major funding for states and the challenge of trying to move the trillion-plus-dollar funding system for higher education, the Trump administration would also face the question of how to exert control over school districts without a federal lever to push.

Previous administrations have used Title I funding as leverage to coax compliance from school districts. In 2013, Obama’s education secretary Arne Duncan threatened to withhold Title I funds if a California failed to adopt an “acceptable” standardized testing program. In 2020, Trump himself threatened to cut off funding to schools that did not re-open their buildings. And on the campaign trail this year, Trump vowed that he would defund schools that require vaccines. That will be hard to do if the federal government has given all control of funds to the states.

The Department of Education has limited power, but the temptation to use it seems hard to resist. Nobody wanted the department gone more than Trump’s education secretary Betsy DeVos, who was notably reluctant to use any power of her office. But by 2018, frustrated with Congressional inaction on the Higher Education Act, DeVos announced a plan to impose regulations on her own. In 2020, she imitated Duncan by requiring states to compete for relief money by implementing some of her preferred policies.

Too many folks on the Trump team have ideas about policies they want to enforce on American schools, and without a Department of Education that has control of a major funding stream, they’d have little hope of achieving their goals. Perhaps those who dream of dismantling the department will prevail, but they will still have to get past Congress. No matter how things fall out, some of Team Trump’s goals for education will not be realized.

Categories Accountability, Betsy DeVos, Bigotry, Budget Cuts, Cruelty, Curriculum, Disruption, Education Industry, Elections, Equity, Ethics, Extremism, Failure, Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Read, Funding, Trump, U.S. Department of Education, Vouchers
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