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Trump Instructs DeVos to Reduce the Feds' Role in Education

President Trump on Wednesday ordered U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to study how the federal government has supported “top-down mandates” that rob autonomy from state and local education authorities, taking aim at Obama-era regulations that Republicans have long sought to eliminate.

President Trump on Wednesday ordered U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to study how the federal government has supported “top-down mandates” that rob autonomy from state and local education authorities, taking aim at Obama-era regulations that Republicans have long sought to eliminate.

 

In an executive order, Trump granted DeVos authority to get rid of K-12 education regulations that don’t comport with federal law. A top U.S. Education Department official admitted, however, that DeVos already has this authority.

 

“This executive order makes certain that local leaders will be making the decisions about what happens in the classroom,” top DeVos advisor Rob Goad told reporters. “Parents will no longer have to worry about the federal government enacting overreaching mandates or requiring states to adopt a federal curriculum at the expense of local education innovation,” an apparent reference to widely adopted "Common Core" standards, which conservatives have long criticized.

 

Trump, like many Republicans, has vowed to shrink the Education Department’s role in how schools and colleges operate. The new order gives DeVos about 10 months to review regulations and guidance. The review will be led by a task force headed by Robert Eitel, a senior counselor to DeVos, Goad said.

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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