Dismantling Education Department, Mandated Programs Would Need Congressional Approval

By: Ryan Gray

22 March 2025 at 02:24

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said an attempt by President Donald Trump to shut down the Department of Education will not cut off funds “for those who depend on them,” namely children protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and other “essential programs.”

She issued the statement Thursday following Trump’s signing of the executive order to make make good on his campaign promise to dismantle the Department of Education, which Congress created in 1979. Trump’s order would need congressional approval to move forward.

It directs McMahon and her staff “to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs and benefits on which Americans rely.”

“Closing the Department does not mean cutting off funds from those who depend on them— we will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers, and others who rely on essential programs,” McMahon said in a statement Thursday. “We’re going to follow the law and eliminate the bureaucracy responsibly by working through Congress to ensure a lawful and orderly transition.”

The Education Department oversees programs and funding enacted by Congress. If the House and Senate eventually approved its closing, these programs would need to be moved to another cabinet-level department. McMahon suggested during her Senate confirmation hearing that IDEA could reside in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Prior to the Education Department’s creation by Congress in 1979, IDEA and other education law resided in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Other programs that would require continued oversight are Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, Title IX of the 1972 education amendments, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Trump’s executive order also prohibits Education Department programs or activities that receive federal education funds from advancing DEI or gender ideology.

“I can’t react to a non-concrete plan, so first I want to wait and see how transparent is Secretary McMahon going to be about the process that she’s going to use,” commented Noelle Edgerson Ng, associate executive director of policy and advocacy for AASA: The Superintendents Association. “As she’s cutting and gutting, is she using a mallet or a scalpel? What data is she using to inform what changes she makes? The approach they take informs the pushback or the response. And we don’t know that yet, so we’re going to take a breath.”

The National Association for Pupil Transportation issued a statement Friday afternoon.

“During this transition to a reduced department, we are eager to learn how IDEA funding and programs will be administered,” NAPT wrote. “IDEA funding is important to the ability of our members to safely transport children with disabilities.”

The statement also said NAPT looks forward to collaborating with the Education Department “to ensure safe and efficient transportation of America’s students.”

NAPT added it believes the Trump administration’s attempt at “examining and ending bureaucratic excess in all areas of the federal government” will extend to other NAPT partners such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Meanwhile, Trump’s executive order also targets “Dear Colleague Letters” that are issued by the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights and Office of Special Education Programs. Several have addressed transportation of students with disabilities and preschoolers. Trump’s order states these letters “have forced schools to redirect resources complying with ideological initiatives, which diverts staff time and attention away from schools’ primary role of teaching.”

AASA’s Edgerson Ng added the executive order makes any work being done by the Office of Civil Rights without a statutory mandate easier to be rescinded.

“That doesn’t mean that the Trump administration might not try to cut and gut programs that have a statutory base, but those will face a much more solid challenge because many of these programs existed before the Department of Ed, and so they’ll continue to exist after whatever [the executive order] is. They exist in law, so they have to exist in implementation,” she said.

Earlier this month, the Education Department announced layoffs affecting half the workforce, another attempt to dismantle the agency. A coalition of 20 Democratic-led states responded with a lawsuit last week against the Trump administration seeking an injunction. A U.S. district court issued a temporary restraining order to stop the firings and reinstate thousands of probationary employees.

“I think it’s feasible to anticipate that the Department of Ed, under Secretary McMahon’s cut and gut, do they over-cut and then find that they’re not able to meet the intent of Congress? And then, somehow, they set a middle ground where some people are brought back? Sure,” Edgerson Ng said. “But what that looks like again depends on the approach they take to cutting people and cutting programs.”

McMahon, the former executive for WWE and wife of founder Vince McMahon, drew the ire of many educators nationwide—including several student transporters spoken to on background for this article—when she was unable to say what the IDEA acronym stands for during a March 11 interview with Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham.

“This is my fifth day on the job. I’m trying to learn very quickly,” McMahon said.

This is a developing story.

The post Dismantling Education Department, Mandated Programs Would Need Congressional Approval appeared first on School Transportation News.

(STN Podcast E245) Pre-Trip Yourself: Green Bus Funding Anxiety, Promoting Emotional Intelligence

School Transportation News

By: Claudia Newton

4 February 2025 at 23:36

Headlines reflect how U.S. states, school districts, and manufacturers are navigating new funding and emissions rules from the Trump presidential administration.

Mitzii Smith is the assistant director of transportation for Maine School Administrative District 6, a Maine School Safety Specialist, president-elect of the Maine Association for Pupil Transportation, and a 2024 STN Rising Star. She discusses running propane buses, promoting emotional intelligence to support staff, and what she’s looking forward to at STN EXPO Charlotte in March.

Florida School District Begins School Bus Mechanic Apprenticeship Program

School Transportation News

By: David Volz

5 December 2024 at 08:00

The Osceola County School District is in the process of developing an maintenance apprenticeship program, thought to be the first of its kind in the state. Individuals with an interest in learning about school bus technology and to gain training and experience in repairing buses are being paid while they attend school and participate in training.

There have been other school bus apprenticeship programs in the U.S., but none at least in modern-day Florida.

“We currently have three apprentices that are working in our central bus depot in our district. There are plans to expand the program after the initial testing period,” said Borras, supervisor of transportation for Osceola County Schools, located south and east of Orlando.

The program is beneficial for mechanics by providing hands-on experience they cannot receive elsewhere. The program offers the opportunity to learn useful skills in a work environment and will assist in job placement opportunities.

According to Borras, the apprenticeship program is going well. Young people are working and learning through it and more are coming into the program.

“We are growing our new program. Our students have to take an aptitude test and, if they do well, they begin a hands-on learning process. We look for students who have an interest in being a mechanic and like to work with their hands,” he explained.

Borras hopes to get more younger people interested in careers as school bus mechanics. “We are working on creating a flow from local high school technical programs. We want to show them the advantages of working for the school district as a mechanic,” he said.

The students complete book work or academic style courses and then they work with experienced mechanics who have the patience and willingness to teach younger people to become expert bus mechanics.

It generally takes about a year and a half for a beginning apprentice to complete a training program to be considered qualified to work more independently. Those who can pass their course work more quickly can complete the training sooner. The apprentices are being paid while they study and learn from the more experienced mechanics.

For years, young people were not encouraged to pursue careers in the trades but there are many advantages to pursuing an apprenticeship. Young people who are less interested in academics may find repairing engines or learning various trades to be more fulfilling and exciting. One can work with experienced adults and learn valuable skills quickly.

Unlike young people who go to college and pay high tuition costs, school bus apprentices are receiving a paycheck while they learn. And if they stay with Osceola or go to another county, they receive state benefits including full health coverage and a full state pension after retirement.