For the second time in a week, Democratic lawmakers in Michigan laid out the consequences if the Trump administration’s plans to defund the U.S. Department of Education are allowed to proceed.
On Friday, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), and state Reps. Kelly Breen (D-Novi) and state Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth), held a news conference at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 80 union hall in Southfield to generally condemn the administration’s actions with the department as well as specifically criticize Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be education secretary.  

“What we heard confirmed our worst fears. McMahon is grossly unqualified and fundamentally out of touch with the needs of students,” McMorrow said, referring to McMahon’s confirmation hearings last week.

“McMahon represents exactly what Trump’s education agenda is all about, putting billionaires and the wealthy first while our students, teachers, and families pay the price. We cannot afford to let this happen in Michigan,” she said.

McMahon, a major Trump campaign donor and former World Wrestling Entertainment executive, told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions last week that she wants to “reorient the department toward helping educators, not controlling them,” without specifying what that means. She also suggested relocating special education oversight and funding, as outlined through IDEA, or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, out of the department.
“IDEA is the same, but might it be better served in a different agency? I’m not sure,” McMahon told Senators.

McMorrow said McMahon’s hearing, coming on the heels of the administration’s decision to freeze federal education funding, including to Head Start programs across the country, has created an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear for parents and families. 
“If Trump gets his way, the consequences for Michigan will be devastating,” she said. “Over 200,000 students with special needs rely on $461 million in federal funding each year. That support makes up 15% of Michigan’s special education budget. If the Department of Education is eliminated, those resources disappear.”

The press conference came just days after Michigan’s school superintendent, Dr. Michael Rice, and other education advocates also raised the alarm about the effects of cutting federal funding to public education. 
“The issue will be that the President, in his assault on the U.S. Department of Education, is in fact threatening the programs and protections of our children, and by extension, our children themselves,” said Rice on Tuesday. “Trump wants to control who is served and what is taught.”

At Friday’s event, Rep. Breen reiterated that theme, saying regardless of what residents may have been told by Trump and his supporters, the education department does not control what students learn.

“It does not manage public schools or require us to adopt any specific education standards. Those rest still, here within our state,” she said. “There are superintendents, teachers, education advocates [who] are already calling out this disinformation for what it is. It is a thinly veiled attempt to control which children receive a quality education and which don’t.”

Koleszar, a former teacher who sits on the Michigan House Education and Workforce Committee, said while curriculum standards are not set at the federal level, the education department does oversee a wide range of vital services, from access to early intervention and pre-K programs, to securing a Pell Grant for higher education. 

“The DOE protects our kids’ civil rights in the classroom, ensuring that no student is discriminated against on the basis of sex or race, and ensuring that every Michigan student has the opportunity to grow a bright future for themselves,” he said.

Koleszar said of the nearly $2.3 billion in federal funding that the government provides to Michigan each year for education, about $533 million supports special education programs for more than 217,000 public school students.

He said despite those stakes, the nomination of McMahon to be education secretary is part of a pattern by Trump of his approach to governance in general.

“Hiring unqualified billionaire buddies to run the DOE has been a hallmark of Trump’s time as President, first with Betsy DeVos and now with Linda McMahon,” he said.
DeVos, another wealthy Trump donor, was education secretary during Trump’s first term.

“Look, I was a professional wrestling fan for most of my life,” said Koleszar, laughing. “I’m about as qualified to run the WWE as Linda McMahon is to run the DOE.”
The legislators urged parents to contact local, state and federal officials to increase pressure on the administration to reverse course.