Conservative-leaning thinktank weighs in on what’s next for the Education Department : NPR

Ailsa Chang, host:

The Trump administration can continue its efforts to dismantle the United States Ministry of Education, at least for the moment. It was after the Supreme Court suspended a lower justice decision which had blocked mass layoffs and had ordered to reintegrate numerous licensed employees. The Trump administration dismissed nearly 1,400 people earlier this year. The Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, said that her final mission was to hand over the power of the Department of Education to the States. Well, with us now to talk about the next step, it’s Michael Petrilli. He is the president of Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative reflection group focused on educational policy. To welcome.

Michael Petrilli: Thank you, Ailsa.

Chang: So I want to start by getting your reaction to the Supreme Court decision yesterday.

Petrilli: Well, the decision itself is not too surprising insofar as they will allow this to play in the lower lessons. I think that the complainants have an argument that the cuts that occurred are quite extreme in certain cases and would dismantle at least parts of the Ministry of Education that Congress authorized.

Chang: OK, so take me at least what you see the next steps in the department – what these steps will look like now. For example, what specific work will stop now that these cuts can proceed?

Petrilli: right. So I think it is important to look and see which offices have really gained the weight of these cuts. Many cuts have an impact on the financial assistance office. It is the office that takes care of student loans for colleges. Now we know that these loans have been reformed in a fairly reformed way in Big Beautiful Bill, and that the bill reduces the role of the Ministry of Education in student loans. It is therefore possible that this office can manage with less staff.

Another large office that was really reduced was the civil rights office. And I think it is the one where many people have concerns that now a much smaller office for civil rights will not be able to follow complaints when students and their families feel discriminated against.

Chang: OK, so paint an image on a daily basis. For example, how much do you see teachers and students personally feeling the impact of this kind of cuts in class?

Petrilli: Well, here is the good news, Ailsa, is that most teachers, most students will not notice it at all. And it is because the United States Ministry of Education was already tiny and had a very small role in our schools even before all this. We are talking about an office which even before it was only 4,000 people. It is just true that the federal government has much to do with daily education. Most schools in the neighborhood are led by local school boards and local school districts, and what the federal government does is really sending them money.

Chang: You know, in March, you wrote in a blog post, quote: “If you want to continue the real waste, fraud and abuse in the American education system, you must do it at the local level, not in Washington. After all, that’s where money is.” So let me ask you-do you think these federal layoffs really do something substantial to improve education and target waste or fraud?

Petrilli: I don’t do it. I do not think it is possible to argue that these cuts will improve our schools. But look, there was a time, Ailsa, when Washington managers worked hard to improve our schools. We had a bipartite effort. It’s been a decade now that it was the case, and we can say. US schools are desperately needing help. There are children who are still in trouble after the pandemic. But we are in a place where we need everyone to focus on the fitting to improve our schools.

Chang: Well, we must also underline, as, President Trump has campaigned on the closure of the Ministry of Education, right? So, how much does this last decision of the Supreme Court bring him closer to this objective? Are we going to see the end of the Ministry of Education?

Petrilli: (laughs) No, I don’t think we will see the end of the Ministry of Education. It is in status. It was created by the Congress and, therefore, the Congress should decide to close it, and Donald Trump does not have 60 votes to do so. I don’t think you can even bring all the Republicans to support this because it is very unpopular. So I think that at the end of all this, at the end of his administration, there will always be a ministry of education. It will be smaller, but it will be there. But that will remain the fact that if you want to improve schools, you have to work at the state level and local because this is where the action is.

Chang: Michael Petrilli is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Thank you very much for your time.

Petrilli: Thank you for doing me, Aisa.

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