Illinois Education Association President Al Llorens released the following statement reacting to Donald Trump’s gutting of the U.S. Department of Education:
“The U.S. Department of Education (USED) was founded to help realize the promise of a quality public school for every student no matter where they live, the color of their skin or how much money their family makes. It does not dictate what schools teach kids or how they educate them. It is part of the fabric that IS public education in the United States and it is public education that works as the great equalizer for our country. Dismantling USED and firing up to 50 percent of its employees will have a profound effect on schools in Illinois. Several programs could be impacted, for instance:
- More than 1,000 school districts in the state receive Title 1 money, funds set aside to help schools with the most impoverished students. This money helps 960,095 students in our state.
- More than 1,000 districts also receive funding through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a federal law that ensures children with disabilities receive free and appropriate education. At least 295,261 Illinois students benefit from these funds.
- Another 264,460 Illinois college students receive Pell grants – money to help the neediest students afford a college education.
- And more than 28,000 students in Illinois are enrolled in Head Start, a program designed to support children’s growth from birth to age 5 through services centered around early learning and development.
These are valuable and needed initiatives that serve our most vulnerable. The Illinois Education Association knows, because we ask Illinoisans each spring about their opinions on public education in Illinois in our annual and bi-partisan State of Education in Illinois. Illinoisans report that:
- Four in five schools in our state are already underfunded and 80 percent of our state believes funding for public education should increase.
- Ninety-one percent of Illinoisans agree that every child in Illinois has a right to an education at a public school.
- And, 92 percent believe that every child with a disability has the right to a public education in our state.
- Only 11 percent of our state’s residents believe that politicians should have any voice in how public schools are run.
Cutting USED will be deeply harmful to Illinois students and our communities. Ninety percent of the students in our state attend public schools and 95 percent of students with disabilities are students within our buildings. Making broad-based cuts like those ordered today doesn’t affect faceless bureaucrats, it affects our kids. We will fight this action. As the largest educator organization in Illinois, it is our mission to do so.”
***Courtesy of the Illinois Education Association***
