{"id":40479,"date":"2025-03-22T12:05:08","date_gmt":"2025-03-22T19:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=40479"},"modified":"2025-03-22T12:05:08","modified_gmt":"2025-03-22T19:05:08","slug":"teachers-say-see-you-in-court-as-trump-tries-to-abolish-department-of-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/03\/22\/teachers-say-see-you-in-court-as-trump-tries-to-abolish-department-of-education\/","title":{"rendered":"TEACHERS SAY \u2018SEE YOU IN COURT\u2019 AS TRUMP TRIES TO ABOLISH DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Demonstrators<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

POSTED INPOLITICS AND MOVEMENTS: US<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe won\u2019t be silent as anti-public education politicians try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities to pay for tax cuts for billionaires,\u201d said the head of the nation\u2019s largest labor union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY\u00a0BRETT WILKINS<\/a><\/strong> MARCH 20, 2025 (therealnews.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demonstrators gather outside of the offices of the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. on March 13, 2025 to protest against mass layoffs and budget cuts at the agency, initiated by the Trump administration and DOGE. Photo by BRYAN DOZIER\/Middle East Images\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Common<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This story originally appeared in Common Dreams<\/a> on Mar. 20, 2025. It is shared here with permission under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a> prepares to sign an executive order Thursday directing officials to shut down the Department of Education, Democratic politicians, teachers and communities across the nation are vowing legal and other challenges to the move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump is set to check off a longtime Republican wish list item by signing a directive ordering Education Secretary Linda McMahon to \u201ctake all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the states.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shutting down the department\u2014which was created in 1979 to ensure equitable access to public education and employs more than 4,000 people\u2014will require an act of Congress, both houses of which are controlled by Republicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cTrump and his Cabinet of billionaires are trying to destroy the Department of Education so they can privatize more schools.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Thursday\u2019s expected order follows the department\u2019s announcement<\/a> earlier this month that it would fire half of its workforce. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a> (I-Vt.) and more than three dozen Democratic senators condemned<\/a> the move and Trump\u2019s impending Department of Education shutdown as \u201ca national disgrace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Abolishing the Department of Education is one of the top goals of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-led roadmap for a far-right takeover and gutting of the federal government closely linked<\/a> to Trump, despite his unconvincing efforts<\/a> to distance himself from the highly controversial plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u200bThe Real News stays independent\u2014no corporate or government funding, just support from people like you. Your donation fuels fearless journalism that informs, inspires, and drives change. Give today or become a sustaining member to keep independent media strong!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) called<\/a> Trump\u2019s bid to abolish the Department of Education \u201cmore bullshit\u201d and vowed to fight the president\u2019s \u201cillegal behavior until the cows come home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said<\/a> on social media: \u201cTrump and his Cabinet of billionaires are trying to destroy the Department of Education so they can privatize more schools. The result: making it even harder to ensure that ALL students have access to a quality education. Another outrageous, illegal scam. We will fight this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/x.com\/SenWarren\/status\/1902778813919936915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1902778813919936915%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftherealnews.com%2Fteachers-say-see-you-in-court-as-trump-tries-to-abolish-department-of-education<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, a Democrat, warned<\/a> that \u201cending the U.S. Department of Education will decimate our education system and devastate families across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSupport for students with special needs and those in rural and urban schools will be gone,\u201d he added. \u201cWe will stop at nothing to protect N.J. and fight this reckless action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association (NEA)\u2014the nation\u2019s largest labor union\u2014said in a statement<\/a> Thursday that \u201cDonald Trump and Elon Musk<\/a> have aimed their wrecking ball at public schools and the futures of the 50 million students in rural, suburban, and urban communities across America, by dismantling public education to pay for tax handouts for billionaires.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musk\u2014the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency<\/a> (DOGE)\u2014is the world\u2019s richest person. Trump and McMahon are also billionaires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf successful, Trump\u2019s continued actions will hurt all students by sending class sizes soaring, cutting job training programs, making higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle-class families, taking away special education services for students with disabilities, and gutting student civil rights protections,\u201d Pringle warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis morning, in hundreds of communities across the nation, thousands of families, educators, students, and community leaders joined together outside of neighborhood public schools to rally against taking away resources and support for our students,\u201d she continued. \u201cAnd, we are just getting started. Every day we are growing our movement to protect our students and public schools.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe won\u2019t be silent as anti-public education politicians try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities to pay for tax cuts for billionaires,\u201d Pringle added. \u201cTogether with parents and allies, we will continue to organize, advocate, and mobilize so that all students have well-resourced schools that allow every student to grow into their full brilliance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/x.com\/SEIU\/status\/1902746638310953196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1902746638310953196%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftherealnews.com%2Fteachers-say-see-you-in-court-as-trump-tries-to-abolish-department-of-education<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Parents Union president Keri Rodrigues said that closing the Department of Education would disproportionately affect the most vulnerable students and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be clear: Before federal oversight, millions of children\u2014particularly those with disabilities and those from our most vulnerable communities\u2014were denied the opportunities they deserved,\u201d Rodrigues said<\/a> in a statement. \u201cThe Department of Education was created to ensure that every child, regardless of background or ZIP code, has access to a public education that prepares them for their future. Eliminating it would roll back decades of progress, leaving countless children behind in an education system that has historically failed the most marginalized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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President Trump is trying to bypass Congress by dismantling established programs they already approved to protect students’ education and civil liberties.Take action now to save the Department of Education.\u2014 ACLU (@aclu.org)<\/a> 2025-03-19T17:33:39.821Z<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The ACLU is circulating a petition<\/a> calling on Congress to \u201csave the Department of Education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Department of Education has an enormous effect on the day-to-day lives of students across the country,\u201d the petition states. \u201cThey are tasked with protecting civil rights on campus and ensuring that every student\u2014regardless of where they live; their family\u2019s income; or their race, sex, gender identity, or disability\u2014has equal access to education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers,\u00a0responded<\/a>\u00a0to Trump\u2019s looming order in four words: \u201cSee you in court.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BRETT WILKINS<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.More by Brett Wilkins<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

POSTED INPOLITICS AND MOVEMENTS: US \u201cWe won\u2019t be silent as anti-public education politicians try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities to pay for tax cuts for billionaires,\u201d said the head of the nation\u2019s largest labor union. BY\u00a0BRETT WILKINS MARCH 20, 2025 (therealnews.com) Demonstrators gather outside… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40479"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40479"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40480,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40479\/revisions\/40480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}