As the nation turns the page on 2024, many are mentally shifting from a time of holiday celebration to a time of anticipation for what lies ahead. Although on January 6, 2025, we saw a peaceful certification of the 2024 presidential election, we are all collectively bracing for a new administration promising sweeping reforms impacting every household in America.
President-Elect Donald Trump promises to eliminate the Department of Education as part of Agenda 47, and dismantle any and all DEI programs that feature “critical race theory, gender ideology or other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content.”
He has chosen Linda McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), to lead the department, or perhaps, lead its demise. She joins a chorus of conservative voices intent on eliminating the DOE. Even more troubling is a lawsuit –now paused– claiming McMahon failed to act on credible allegations of child sexual abuse connected to the WWE in the 1980s.
But the dissolution of a federal government department with the mission ”to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access” will help no one. The new administration’s rhetoric offers little explanation for what will replace the department, except to say education decisions should be made at the state, not federal level.
Why DEI Matters
It is irrefutable that the DOE goal to “supplement and complement the efforts of states, the local school systems and other instrumentalities of the states, the private sector, public and private nonprofit educational research institutions, community-based organizations, parents, and students to improve the quality of education” is necessary for the intellectual growth of students and the future of this country. The intellectual growth of our children increasingly demands they be able to think critically. Exposure to a…
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