The Supreme Court on
Monday agreed to pause a lower court order that required the Department of
Education to reinstate nearly 1,400 employees who had been laid off while
proceedings over the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the agency
continue.
The high court granted
a request from the Trump administration to
lift for now the injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Myong Joun,
which blocked the mass layoffs at the Education
Department. A federal appeals court rejected a bid to pause that decision while
the Justice Department appealed, after which it sought emergency relief from
the Supreme Court.
The decision to lift
the stay was 6 to 3, with the majority saying the lower court's injunction
would be paused while the case works its way through the appeals process.
The court's three
liberals disagreed with the move, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor writing a
dissent that was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
"When the Executive publicly announces its intent to
break the law, and then executes on that promise, it is the Judiciary's duty to
check that lawlessness, not expedite it," Sotomayor wrote. "Two lower
courts rose to the occasion, preliminarily enjoining the mass firings while the
litigation remains ongoing. Rather than maintain the status quo, however, this
Court now intervenes, lifting the injunction and permitting the Government to
proceed with dismantling the Department. That decision is indefensible."
“Today, the Supreme Court again
confirmed the obvious: the President of the United States, as the head of the
Executive Branch, has the ultimate authority to make decisions about staffing
levels, administrative organization, and day-to-day operations of federal
agencies. While today’s ruling is a significant win for students and families,
it is a shame that the highest court in the land had to step in to allow
President Trump to advance the reforms Americans elected him to deliver using
the authorities granted to him by the U.S. Constitution.
The U.S. Department of Education will now deliver on its
mandate to restore excellence in American education. We will carry out the
reduction in force to promote efficiency and accountability and to ensure
resources are directed where they matter most – to students, parents, and
teachers. As we return education to the states, this Administration will
continue to perform all statutory duties while empowering families and teachers
by reducing education bureaucracy.”
Like most of Trump’s
cabinet, she is not as qualified for the position that she holds as many of her
predecessors. To make matters worse, the Department of Education is now part of
the Department of Health and Human Services, which is headed by Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. who is even LESS qualified to the position that he holds.
To be fair, she does
have SOME education experience, which you can read in the link below
https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-organization/meet-secretary-of-education/linda-e-mcmahon
However, the REAL
reason she was chose had a lot to do with money.
- McMahon spoke at the Republican National Convention
this week and also expressed a desire to return to Trump's cabinet.
- McMahon served on Trump's cabinet during his first
term as president between 2017 and 2019.
Beyond it being of interest to every US citizen since it will determine
who runs the country for the next four years, there doesn't tend to be a direct
link between pro wrestling and who's running for president. That's a little
different at the moment since Donald Trump is making a bid to return to office.
Trump is in the WWE Hall Of Fame, was a key player in WrestleMania 23's main
event, and several big names from the wrestling industry were in attendance at
this week's Republican National Convention to show their support for the
presidential candidate. (You may remember that
Hulk Hogan tore off his shirt on the stage during the convention).
The Department of
Education is the most recent Federal Department, since it was created 1979.
However, most people do not really understand what the department actually does.
To better explain
that, I have copied verbatim that is posted on their website, although I have
added a few highlights in a few areas.
What Is the U.S. Department of Education?
The U.S. Department of
Education is the agency of the federal government that establishes policy for,
administers and coordinates most federal assistance to education. It assists
the president in executing his education policies for the nation and in implementing
laws enacted by Congress. The Department's mission is to serve America's
students-to promote student achievement and preparation for global
competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
In 2007-08, the
Department's elementary and secondary school programs served approximately 55
million students (pre-K through grade 12) attending some 100,000 public schools
and 34,000 private schools. Department programs also provided grant, loan and
work-study assistance to about 10 million undergraduate students. *
When Congress created
the Department in 1979, it declared these purposes:
- to strengthen the Federal commitment to ensuring
access to equal educational opportunity for every individual:
(One example of this is the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)
https://www.disabilityhelp.org/what-federal-laws-protect-students-with-disabilities/
- to supplement and complement the efforts of States,
the local school systems and other instrumentalities of the States, the
private sector, public and private educational institutions, public and
private nonprofit educational research institutions, community-based
organizations, parents, and students to improve the quality of education;
- to encourage the increased involvement of the public,
parents, and students in Federal education programs;
On occasion, this can
lead to adverse outcomes, as exemplified by the extremist group known as Moms for
Liberty)
- to promote improvements in the quality and usefulness
of education through federally supported research, evaluation, and
sharing of information;
- to improve the coordination of Federal education
programs;
- to improve the management and
efficiency of Federal education activities, especially with respect to the
process, procedures, and administrative structures for the dispersal of
Federal funds, as well as the reduction of
unnecessary and duplicative burdens and constraints,
- including unnecessary paperwork, on the recipients of
Federal funds (One example of this is the Pell Grants)
- to increase the accountability of Federal education
programs to the President, the Congress and the public. (Section 102,
Public Law 96-88)
The Department's History
Although the Department
is a relative newcomer among Cabinet-level agencies, its origins go back to
1867, when President Andrew Johnson signed legislation creating the first
Department of Education. Its main purpose was to collect information and
statistics about the nation's schools. However, due to concern that the
Department would exercise too much control over local schools, the new
Department was demoted to an Office of Education in 1868.
Over the years, the
office remained relatively small, operating under different titles and housed
in various agencies, including the U.S. Department of the Interior and the
former U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare (now Health and Human
Services).
Beginning in the 1950s,
political and social changes resulted in expanded federal funding for
education. The successful launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik in 1957 spurred
nationwide concern that led to increased aid for science education programs.
The 1960s saw even more expansion of federal education funding: President
Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty" called for the creation of many
programs to improve education for poor students at all levels—early childhood
through postsecondary. This expansion continued in the 1970s with national
efforts to help racial minorities, women, people with disabilities and
non-English speaking students gain equal access to education. In October 1979,
Congress passed the Department of Education Organization Act (Public Law 96-88).
Created by combining offices from several federal agencies, the Department
began operations in May 1980.
In the 1860s, a budget
of $15,000 and four employees handled education fact-finding. By 1965, the
Office of Education had more than 2,100 employees and a budget of $1.5 billion.
As of mid-2010, the Department has nearly 4,300 employees and a budget of about
$60 billion.
https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-overview/an-overview-of-the-us-department-of-education--pg-1
Biden’s team has referred to Project 2025 as a “manifesto
infused with MAGA ideology” that “should scare every single American” and has
mentioned it in dozens of recent news releases. Its creators frame it as an
effort to bring “self-government to the American people,” according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile,
the Trump campaign recently has tried to distance itself from the initiative.
For K-12 schools, the agenda proposes a complete restructure of governance at
the federal level and the eventual elimination of a key federal
funding source: Title I, which provides grants to schools with large
populations of low-income students.
There WAS a time
when we had the best educational system in the world, but that is not longer
true, since the best system in the world can now be found in Finland, while we
have sunk to #17, and the link below explains why:
Teaching is now an
easy job, and am speaking from experience, since I have been a teacher for
close to 20 years.
It’s an absolute
fact that Trump 45 was the worst president in our nation’s history, and Trump 47
is worse. Although it will take decades to reverse the damage that Trump is doing
to our country, it will happen EVENTUALLY.
For now, there is little
that we can do other than electing the right people in every single election we
can, but don’t forget to protest every chance we can.
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