(25News Now) -- The possibility of eliminating the U.S. Department of Education is adding uncertainty among local leaders as President Donald Trump’s administration works to reduce the size of the federal government.
The proposed order, if approved by Congress, would dismantle the federal agency, but the Trump team is not the first to attempt this.
“We spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, and we’re ranked at the bottom of the list, we’re ranked very badly, and what I want to do is let the states run schools,” said Trump.
Public schools in Illinois are administered and funded on all levels: local, state, and federal.
Superintendent Mark Jontry, who oversees schools in McLean, Livingston, Logan, and DeWitt Counties, said the federal government is responsible for several grant-funded programs and protections, including gender discrimination, low-income services, and special needs education.
Jontry said those services could be affected if the Education Department disappears, whether the money goes with it, or is administered elsewhere.
“We are subject to the federal laws around students with special needs, and elimination of the department isn’t going to make those laws go away,” said Jonty. “It kind of comes down to where that oversight is going to be administered at the federal level absent change in the [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act].”
State government is where most schools get general education funding.
For example, 41% of the Peoria Public Schools budget comes from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Nineteen percent is federally funded, and 23% comes from local dollars like property taxes.
Funding Pre-Kindergarten-12 education accounts for one-fifth of Illinois’s general revenue expenditures, paying to educate about 1.9 million students. On Wednesday, ISBE approved an increase of $11.4 billion in its budget to distribute to Illinois schools.
“We really value a lot of local control in Illinois when it comes to K-12 public education, that’s not going to change,” said Jontry.
The state government also has primary control over curriculum and learning standards. However, Jontry said the ISBE has to get standardized tests like the SAT and ACT approved by the federal government.
“[Standardized tests are] probably an area that we’ll pay attention to, but I think at the end of the day, everybody’s just kind of sitting back and waiting to see what’s really going to happen [or] is anything going to happen when it comes to the Department of Education,” said Jontry.
Jontry said if Trump’s proposal becomes law, it would likely have a large impact on students in higher education seeking financial aid.
The Trump Administration needs Congressional approval, including 60 votes in the Senate rather than a simple majority.
This story first appeared on 25newsnow.com
