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Linda McMahon, the former CEO of WWE, has been officially named as the United States Secretary of Education, and with that, for many experts, comes the end of the Department and the cut of federal funding to schools and universities, leaving students with disabilities, low-income students, homeless students, and immigrants totally vulnerable.
In an interview with La Opinión, Keri Rodrigues, founder and president of the National Parents Union, warned that “First of all, what will be eliminated will be bilingual education.”
“I can anticipate that you will hear from President Trump that English is the language of this nation and that they need to know it and that we are not going to pay for them to learn it. So, I would not be surprised to hear that, first of all, bilingual education will be cut,” he told the outlet.
She added that there are 7.4 million children in the United States who require special education, and this will greatly affect them.
He added that those who live in a Republican state, such as Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama or Louisiana, will be the most affected, since they depend largely on Title One funding, which is intended for low-income people.
Rodrigues said that between 20 and 25 percent of the funding in these Republican states actually comes from the federal government.
Although he has not done so yet, various American media reported last week that Donald Trump is about to sign a new series of executive orders, including one aimed at closing the Department of Education.
Notably, with the demise of the department, several diversity and inclusion (DEI) programs would be severely impacted, as Trump has promised to cut off federal money to schools and universities that promote “critical race theory, transgender craze, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content” and to reward states and schools that end teacher tenure and enact universal school choice programs.
During his 2024 election campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to gut the Department of Education if he won a second term in office, saying it had been infiltrated by “radicals, fanatics and Marxists.” He has also said the agency’s power should be returned to states and schools.
He has also criticized American schools for being too liberal, having already signed several executive orders on issues in education such as race, gender and protests on college campuses.
The Department of Education was created in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter; its primary function is financial, distributing billions of dollars in federal funds to colleges and universities, as well as managing the federal student loan portfolio.
In turn, it regulates services for students, from those with disabilities to low-income and homeless children, and, through its Civil Rights Office, it conducts research and publishes guidelines on how civil rights laws should be applied, such as for LGBTQ+ students and students of color.
Elon Musk has also had his hands in this, as the Department of Education is being targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by the tycoon and owner of companies such as X and Tesla.
Dismantling the Department of Education will not be easy, as it requires congressional approval, so experts say this may be unlikely. The bill would likely need 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a parliamentary filibuster, meaning at least seven Democrats would have to support the measure.
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