President Trump’s proposed FY 2026 budget includes a range of cuts to education, including $131 million to funds that go to Tennessee school districts. That’s the equivalent of nearly 3000 teachers.
The question is will Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Rep. John Rose, both of whom want to become Tennessee’s governor, actually stand up and fight for the state they hope to lead?
The answer is likely no.
The Trump Administration’s relentless commitment to dismantling public education includes freezing funds just ahead of the start of school.
Nationally, the frozen funds amount to around $7 billion.
In Tennessee, the funds amount to $118 million. Of course, in the Volunteer State, Gov. Lee is all-in on Trumpism and so is cheering the demise of public schools.
Meanwhile, Attorneys General in some states – like North Carolina – are suing Trump to release the funds and avoid programmatic and staffing cuts.
Gov. Bill Lee yesterday celebrated Donald Trump’s “executive order” to dismantle and effectively end the U.S. Department of Education.
Unsurprisingly, the same Governor who relentlessly pushed to destroy public education in Tennessee through a costly and ineffective school voucher scheme also supports this latest very bad idea.
Here’s a bit of what I wrote about it over at The Education Report:
In short: This will be bad. All of it. The end of the Department of Education. The end of public school. The advent of “free market, choose your own adventure” education.
The end result: an exacerbation of income-based inequality. Or, the dream scenario of Project 2025.
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An analysis out of Arizona demonstrates what’s at stake as President Musk and his associate, Trump, move forward with dismantling the federal Department of Education:
Now, Save Our Schools Arizona is offering an analysis of the potential impacts there. Again, as much as $1 billion could be impacted – and, to be clear, even if the final number lost is only a fraction of that amount, it will have real consequences for students and schools in the state.
TN also gets a nice share of cash from the feds. And sure, some of that money may be “block granted” to the states. But taking away a couple hundred million dollars is not a great way to help schools that are already under-resourced.
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It is, in fact, bad.
All of it, when it comes to Team Trump, Elon, and the oligarchs.
But also: The Department of Education stuff.
I mean, Joe Biden appointed a former classroom teacher to head the Ed Department.
Trump is suggesting a pro wrestling executive.
But, what does it all mean? What will happen if the Department of Education is disbanded or broken down to a much smaller entity?
Well:
Roughly 7.5 million students, or 15 percent of the student population, receive special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which provides $15 billion to support students with disabilities. This program could be transferred to another agency, making it significantly less likely that students with disabilities receive the services and support they need and deserve.
And that’s just one example.
Funding, support, and resources will be lost – and protections for vulnerable student populations will be uneven at best.
Meanwhile, Elon and the Oligarchs will pillage the department to boost their own bottom lines.
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Gov. Bill Lee was quick to indicate his support for Donald Trump’s selection of Linda McMahon to head the U.S. Department of Education.
This is not exactly surprising. Despite Trump calling Lee a “RINO,” Lee trips all over himself to curry favor with Trump.
Plus, Lee and Trump (and McMahon) have the same goal: Privatizing public schools by way of voucher schemes.
Peter Greene notes of McMahon:
Unlike former secretary Betsy DeVos or some of the contenders like Tiffany Justice and Erika Donalds, McMahon has not spent most of her adult life trying to devise and implement ways to dismantle and privatize public education. (And at age 76, she is a decade older than DeVos–one more aging boomer in this administration). I’m not saying that won’t be part of her policy objectives. It’s just that she won’t enter office with a whole suitcase of explosives already packed.
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Trump is back, and some former educators think that may mean an expediting of the current teacher exodus.
These moves would gut public education, imperil our most vulnerable students, and move us closer to a dystopia in which education is little more than childcare and teaching a low-skilled, low-paid job where EdTech bots “teach” and humans merely supervise.
Quinn wonders what will happen at the end of another four years of Trump:
If the teaching profession is gutted, as it likely will be, and if a mass exodus occurs, which is likely may—what will be left of our education system? And what will happen to our young people in it, the most vulnerable of whom will be most deeply impacted?
Also, will Betsy DeVos come back? Or, will a pro-voucher governor like Bill Lee take on the Ed Secretary role?
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