WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today participated in a spotlight forum entitled “Dismantling Education: What the Trump Administration’s Illegal Attacks on Federal Programs Mean for Students, Families, and Educators.” The forum, convened by U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), focused on the dangerous consequences of the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for the nation’s students, families, and schools.
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“The creation of the Department of Education, in my mind, was an effort to take Brown v. Board of Education to a new level. Once we established equality of opportunity in the law, we looked around and said, ‘This isn’t even close to being equal. We’re going to have to focus resources and expertise into improving schools to get rid of the disparities.’ Now comes the Trump Administration, which says we don’t need it [ED] anymore. They’ll parcel out the functions of the Department of Education,” Durbin said.
Durbin then asked Ms. Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, about her thoughts on the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle ED.
“Ms. Weingarten, I noticed that you’re not only a professional teacher but also went to law school. So with that combination of education and law that I just made, would you like to comment on that?” Durbin asked.
Ms. Weingarten replied that the initial destruction of ED by the Trump Administration is a direct challenge to the constitutional standard that all children in the United States, regardless of race and immigration status and including students with disabilities, deserve equal opportunity.
Video of Durbin’s remarks are available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks are available here.
