What would you do in your family/community if this were to come to pass? (See details)

This is what dictators do – rewrite history to suit their authoritarian goals.

Yes, it could happen. What would I do? Hard to say. I would hope that our existing laws and legislation would quash this type of bullshit. But it depends on the republican nazis in the community and how much force they bring to bear.

It’s total, total insanity. I am sure there are some who will defend it but I don’t see how it can be justified.

It does make me glad I live in a blue state.

If I had children I would consider homeschooling them.

I guess the first thing to do is evaluate the Dept. of Education. What is their function? What are their goals? Are they effective? Are they politicized? All these sorts of questions should be asked and answered. I tend to look back on “No Child Left Behind”. The DoEd was used to control the purse strings to schools that didn’t meet their guidelines. In the end, the schools killed themselves trying to get the lowest performing students’ grades up and sacrificed challenging the upper performing groups. Schools ended up teaching the standardized tests. Math and Science test scores have pretty much been stagnant since 2005. So I’d suggest that as an organization, it is highly ineffective. Either it doesn’t have good goals or it administers them poorly. And it takes a chunk of our federal budget. So getting rid of the DoEd might be warranted. At least overhauling it is necessary.

If you got rid of it and turned it all over to the states, you very well could end up with California teaching that men can get pregnant while Nebraska says only women can get pregnant. That would really be up to the people to demand the accountability from the states at that point. But we are seeing that anyway these days. The bigger impact would be what the DoEd gives to states for education in the way of money.

If I were a parent of school aged children at this point in time and Trump got rid of the DoEd, I’d likely form up a coalition of neighbors and friends to set up some form of homeschooling for all our children. It really wouldn’t be that difficult. Get enough parents together and they should be able to teach just about any classes K-12. You might even see private businesses popping up to supply teachers and even whole education programs for the kids.

@seawulf575 You have obviously never tried cooperative homeschooling.

@all how would you raise funding?

@canidmajor No, I never have. But I have tutored kids before. And if I were in a situation where my kids were suddenly going to have issues getting education because of the switch to all state controlled (no feds), I’d give it a try.

The article you gave is left wing slop. Lots of fear mongering and claims that are bogus. Here are the things Trump is campaigning on, right from his own website:

Our Commitment:
Republicans offer a plan to cultivate great K-12 schools, ensure safe learning environments free from political meddling, and restore Parental Rights. We commit to an Education System that empowers students, supports families, and promotes American Values. Our Education System must prepare students for successful lives and well-paying jobs.

1. Great Principals and Great Teachers
Republicans will support schools that focus on Excellence and Parental Rights. We will support ending Teacher Tenure, adopting Merit pay, and allowing various publicly supported Educational models.

2. Universal School Choice
Republicans believe families should be empowered to choose the best Education for their children. We support Universal School Choice in every State in America. We will expand 529 Education Savings Accounts and support Homeschooling Families equally.

3. Prepare Students for Jobs and Careers
Republicans will emphasize Education to prepare students for great jobs and careers, supporting project-based learning and schools that offer meaningful work experience. We will expose politicized education models and fund proven career training programs.

4. Safe, Secure, and Drug-Free Schools
Republicans will support overhauling standards on school discipline, advocate for immediate suspension of violent students, and support hardening schools to help keep violence away from our places of learning.

5. Restore Parental Rights
Republicans will restore Parental Rights in Education, and enforce our Civil Rights Laws to stop schools from discriminating on the basis of Race. We trust Parents!

6. Knowledge and Skills, Not CRT and Gender Indoctrination
_Republicans will ensure children are taught fundamentals like Reading, History, Science, and Math, not Leftwing propaganda. We will defund schools that engage in inappropriate political indoctrination of our children using Federal Taxpayer Dollars.

7. Promote Love of Country with Authentic Civics Education
Republicans will reinstate the 1776 Commission, promote Fair and Patriotic Civics Education, and veto efforts to nationalize Civics Education. We will support schools that teach America’s Founding Principles and Western Civilization.

8. Freedom to Pray
Republicans will champion the First Amendment Right to Pray and Read the Bible in school, and stand up to those who violate the Religious Freedoms of American students.

9. Return Education to the States
The United States spends more money per pupil on Education than any other Country in the World, and yet we are at the bottom of every educational list in terms of results. We are going to close the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. and send it back to the States, where it belongs, and let the States run our educational system as it should be run. Our Great Teachers, who are so important to the future wellbeing of our Country, will be cherished and protected by the Republican Party so that they can do the job of educating our students that they so dearly want to do. It is our goal to bring Education in the United States to the highest level, one that it has never attained before!

Interestingly, it doesn’t sound like Trump is cutting out funding for schools, he’s just cutting out the Department of Education. That organization supports about 4400 employees and has a budget of over $3B. I’m willing to be that each and every state already has employees that are working on their Dept of Ed and there is much overlap and duplication of duties. It almost sounds like he is picturing something more like what Sweden does for it’s private schools where the states put the education up for bid and companies that want to can put in proposals. The Feds really just set standards (like have to keep buildings up, have to supply lunches, basic curriculum guidance, etc). The states figure what they want, write up the proposal details in a report to the Feds who ensure it meets all the guidelines and then they provide money to fund what the states can’t fund.

@seawulf575 The interview bit was pretty clear. Waving your arms about and calling it slop doesn’t change how clearly stated the questions and answers were.

Well, never mind. <eyeroll>

@seawulf575…and you got all of that from his own website? Hmmm…it must be true then! Plus, it’s on the internet fergoshsake!~

We aren’t the ONLY country built on slaves but regardless of politics we should agree the truth is what your kids should be taught. I also realize both parties are involving themselves into school issues from bathrooms to bibles.
What a difficult position our leadership puts us all in with their allergy to compromise. I swear Id take Bill Clinton back in a heartbeat, even if he was a dirty dog. Ha!

It seems, to me, if Trump can get states to completely govern themselves, he would gain power.
As not he, or any republican does well with the popular vote.
If he can isolate the states who opose his agenda, he will reduce their power and influence.

I listened to an interview with Mike Johnson today, and he dodged the big questions about Trump. Not a surprise, and it doesn’t matter. He didn’t varnish the agenda he intends to “pursue aggressively.”
They have a plan, they are going to try and change the country forever. It could work, if enough people are complicit or sell out…

I will be sad for American people.
I have never been a patriot, but I always believed in the idea of America.
Trump will forever taint whatever he cannot destroy.

Once most of the bad things stop, and order is restored, Trump will still have FOX “news” and “X” (if Musk doesn’t drop him quick after he loses.)
Trump will attempt to divide the nation, and continue keeping tensions high. If he loses though, the biggest change will be that Trump will likely have to stand trial for his myriad of accusations. He may end up, in federal prison.

@canidmajor The article you cited did not give the whole interview, only pieces of it. That people then gave their interpretations as facts. This was followed up with others telling us what Trump would do if elected and who, once again, tried toting out that long debunked idea that he is behind Project 2025 that you lefties are so nutty about. Yeah, that’s a factual article <eyeroll>

@smudges Let’s consider your comment a bit. The article @canidmajor cited was from a left-wing website. Hmmm…so it must be true then! And it is on the internet omigosh!

Isn’t it funny how, when you get snide in matters of opinion it can so quickly be turned around on you?

The article that was originally posted was from a left-wing slop shop. You can tell that by reading it. It’s the sort of site I expect most of the lefty jellies get all their thinking from. But in the article you can easily see that they have many places where someone tells us what Trump means, how he thinks, where he gets his ideas, etc. So I went to the Trump page to get a clearer picture of how he views this topic. And apparently it is a truer version because he pretty much uses the same language during the cited interview.

@MrGrimm888 ” if Trump can get states to completely govern themselves, he would gain power.” ??? I’m missing some weird link in the logic. He is moving the control and the power to the states. How does that gain him power? And after this term in office, he’d be out for good so nothing he does is benefiting him in the way of power. And moving the power to the states is how the country was originally designed. It was NOT designed to have the bloated, overreaching and dominating central government that has been created.

I will feel sad for other states being that I live in a Blue state with some of the best Education in the country. These States are that way because they are Blue and value education already.
There already is such a huge disparity in education between states. This gap will only grow if this happens. This is not the fault of the Department of Education but of the states.
I suspect it will add to the flux of families that are moving from the southern red states because of Climate change issues, Roe v Wade issues, etc. This will only add another reason to reside in a Blue State. They actually care about their people and show it proudly.

@Forever_Free I think that many who live in Red states sincerely believe that Blue states would have transgenders teaching the kids and doing sex changes in the schools, so they wouldn’t be too quick to move from a red to a blue state at all.

@seawulf575 Your novelette answer is a continuation of meaningless babble. None of those points have any meaning or teeth to actually doing anything. Promises, promises, promises, Blue Sky blah blah blah.

@jca2 You are correct that “many” of those people actually are just drinking the Kool-Aid and also just accepting what is given to them..

@Forever_Free Remember, you are talking to someone who doesn’t understand that “woke” actually means “aware” and believes the opposite, “asleep” is the good way to approach science.

If you close the federal level Department of Education will there still be federal funds given to states for education?

No surprise I support keeping the the US Dept of Ed. We need to have some basic standards across the US in my opinion. It can also help evaluate best practices in various districts across the US and make recommendations.

K-12 only receives about 9% of their funding from the fed, and many of the bluest states receive much less, although you cannot make an across the board statement about that.

This threat in one way is just total bullshit since states already have a lot of control over education and I already mentioned the funding. It is scary though, because of the underlying theme.

It is a song of the extreme right. If someone feels they are not extreme right but still support attacking the public school system then they need to realize they are in bed with extremists who are attacking the education of Americans. They are on a movement towards theocracy. Good public schools are the only way for a nation to maintain its prosperity and prominence. Shutting down public schools is about funding religious education, be clear on the goal of the leaders at the head of this mantra.

I have always been in favor of school choice, but including having certain basic standards.

If some schools are too progressive in their teaching it should be addressed, but it is not widespread and there is always room for tweaking.

@seawulf575 You wrote: Here are the things Trump is campaigning on, right from his own website:

That means that whatever comes after that statement is from trump’s website and has nothing to do with this article you’re talking about from @canidmajor, which I didn’t even view. That’s what I was referring to with my intentionally snide remarks.

@JLeslie The problem is that these lunatics don’t want standards because the standards may be more liberal than they would like. They don’t want men in dresses doing drag shows at schools and they don’t want talk about acceptance of all genders in schools and they don’t want boys in girls rooms and all that. Not that those things occur, but in their minds, they do. They want (and what Trump is talking about) religion in schools, being allowed to read the Bible in schools, no talk about acceptance of all genders, etc.

(I was being sarcastic above when I mentioned men in dresses doing drag shows in schools so please don’t everyone jump all over me. I was referring to what Conservatives believe happens in schools, not what I think happens).

All most red states want is traditional education. I didn’t grow up with sexuality or gender roles being taught or debated, perhaps a few teachers were not in traditional partnerships but it wasnt discussed, as that was seen as personal.
To be honest, red states are protective of impressionable children, then when youre older you make your own choices.

@Forever_Free Yes, pointing out biased drivel is so much worse than pushing it. When you start a question with a completely biased starting point, anything that refutes that or tries to clarify the issue to prompt thoughtful discussion should be shut down. Good job!

@KNOWITALL My daughter’s school (in our blue state) does not teach gender roles either. This is entirely a made up thing.

@smudges sooo…you just attacked me from the position of ignorance?

@jca2 Since there aren’t men in drag shows in schools, a lot of the fear mongering being done on the right is just blatantly false, not happening, and Democrats and Republicans actually agree on a lot of it, so any rules about it are easily followed, because it is already not being done.

@jca2 ” They don’t want men in dresses doing drag shows at schools and they don’t want talk about acceptance of all genders in schools and they don’t want boys in girls rooms and all that. Not that those things occur, but in their minds, they do. ”

https://www.newsweek.com/public-school-district-took-middle-schoolers-drag-show-without-telling-their-parents-opinion-1776503

https://nypost.com/2023/03/29/girl-straddled-by-drag-queen-at-north-carolina-school-sparking-outrage/

https://nypost.com/2022/06/11/over-200k-being-spent-on-drag-queen-shows-at-nyc-schools/

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/17/us/drag-queens-recruited-to-help-with-pride-event-trnd/index.html

https://wlos.com/news/nation-world/after-trans-woman-exposed-genitalia-to-freshman-girls-in-locker-room-shower-school-district-faces-legal-scrutiny

https://texasscorecard.com/local/school-district-allowing-boys-in-girls-private-rooms-and-ignoring-concerns/

and let’s not forget this gem:
https://www.newsweek.com/loudoun-county-teen-put-under-electronic-monitoring-before-transgender-bathroom-assault-1638787

You know…the one where the kid raped a 14 year old, the school board covered it up and sent the kid to another school where he raped another 14 year old? Yeah, that stuff is all in the minds of the right…it never happens. Why do you hate girls so much?

People on this Q might be interested in this Jubilee episode about Homeschool vs Public Education. It isn’t directly on target with the Q, but raises a lot of the concerns the republicans talk about regarding public schools. https://youtu.be/zUqmUDjBP3E?si=1jXyNnqV94-SGs0d

@seawulf575 Please, then, point out in the interview where he refutes the statement.

@seawulf575 I don’t have time to click on all the links because I am going out now, but I clicked on one that I did agree with you, sounded potentially ominous, about the girl being straddled by the drag queen at the school event. I see, however, that the school is a college and although it says children as young as 14 attend the college, chances are that kids at college are 18 and up, with rare exceptions, and the article also states that the age of the girl (the girl who was straddled) is not known, so it seems like yes, it can be shocking and upsetting but then, without more details, it might not be.

I don’t hate girls, but I am trying to look at both sides of the issue. There have been many times on here when I was anti-Biden so I think it shows I’m pretty objective. I’m betting a total right winger would say I’m a lefty but many who know me don’t think I am.

In my daughter’s school, they don’t teach gender roles but they do teach kids to be kind and accepting. My daughter has some kids in class that have two moms or two dads, and they’re all taught that it’s not a horrible thing, which I think is a good way to think. In life, I’m sure my daughter is going to have bosses that she works under that are all races, all genders, all nationalities, and it’s not helpful (or won’t be helpful for her) to hate or fear people based on race, gender, nationality, etc.

When I went to school, in the 1970s and 80s, we lived in a diverse city of many races and nationalities, and it was not uncommon during those years for kids to call each other “retard,” “faggot,” and to make jokes about people’s nationalities (i.e. dumb Pollack, etc.). This is in NY right next to NYC, so it wasn’t like we lived in the boondocks, upstate. We were very exposed to all genders and nationalities, and the school was probably 40% black and 60% white, so it wasn’t a white enclave, either. It’s good that kids now are taught that those comments and mindsets are not acceptable.

@seawulf575 Nope, I “attacked” you, as you call it, on the basis of what YOU said. Oftentimes, you’re just too silly to talk to, and this is one of those times. Now it’s your turn since you must have the last word and I’ll let you have it since I don’t want to talk to you anymore.