President Trump: These 'Useful Functions' Of Department Of Education Will Survive Its Elimination

Forbes Breaking News

In his remarks before signing an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, President Trump discussed what programs and functions will survive and how states would be empowered to control most education policy.

Transcript

00:00Absolutely right.

00:01After 45 years, the United States spends more money on education by far than any other country

00:08and spends, likewise, by far, more money per pupil than any country, and it's not even

00:14close.

00:15But yet, we rank near the bottom of the list in terms of success.

00:20It's an amazing stat.

00:23Those are two stats you don't want.

00:24The most money spent per pupil, and you're at the bottom of the list.

00:27And that's where we are, like it or not.

00:29And we've been there for a long time.

00:32Seventy percent of eighth graders are not proficient in either reading or in math.

00:38Seventy percent.

00:39Forty percent of fourth graders lack even basic reading skills, can't read.

00:44Students in our public elementary and middle schools score worse in reading today than

00:49when the department opened by a lot.

00:54In Baltimore, 40 percent of the high schools have zero students who can do basic mathematics.

01:00Not even the very simplest of mathematics.

01:03I said, give me your definition of basic, and they're talking about, like, adding a

01:07few numbers together.

01:10Despite these breathtaking failures, the department's discretionary budget has exploded by 600 percent

01:17in a very short period of time, and it employs bureaucrats in buildings all over Washington,

01:22D.C.

01:24As a former real estate person, I will tell you, I ride through the streets of Washington

01:28and it says Department of Education, Department of Education.

01:32I said, how do you fill those buildings?

01:34It's crazy what's happened over the years.

01:37I'm pleased to report that after offering these federal employees two generous buyout

01:43options — and they were very generous, and they're good people, but they were very generous

01:49My administration has initiated a reduction in force, and we're already cutting numbers

01:55that were really surprising to a lot that we were able to do it so successfully.

02:00And we've cut the number of bureaucrats in half.

02:03Fifty percent have taken office, which is great.

02:12Under the action I am taking today, a small handful of Democrats and others that we have

02:19employed for a long time — and there are some Republicans, but not too many, I have

02:23to be honest with you — but the department's useful functions, such as — and they're

02:29in charge of them — Pell Grants, Title I funding, resources for children with disabilities

02:35and special needs will be preserved, fully preserved.

02:39They're all going to be.

02:40So if you look at the Pell Grants, it's supposed to be a very good program, Title I funding

02:45and resources for children with special disabilities and special needs.

02:50They're going to be preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and

02:56departments that will take very good care of them.

03:00And that's very important to Linda, I know, and it's very important to all of us.

03:04But beyond these core necessities, my administration will take all lawful steps to shut down the

03:10department.

03:11We're going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible.

03:14It's doing us no good.

03:15We want to return our students to the States, where just some of the governors here are

03:20so happy about this.

03:22They want education to come back to them, to come back to the States, and they're going

03:26to do a phenomenal job.

03:28You know, if you look, Denmark, Norway, Sweden — I have to tell you, I give them a lot

03:34of credit.

03:35It's a top 10.

03:37And so we can't now say that bigness is making it impossible to educate, because China is

03:42very big.

03:44But you have countries that do a very good job in education, and I really believe, like

03:48some of the governors here today, from states that run very, very well — including a big

03:54state like Texas — but states that run very well are going to have education that will

04:00be as good as Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and those top — Finland, those top countries

04:05that do so well with education.

04:07I think they'll have — they'll do every bit as well.

04:11And what do you think about that, Governor?

04:12Do you agree?

04:13Huh?

04:14I think so.

04:15Ron, do you agree?

04:16I think so.

04:17Florida?

04:18Iowa?

04:19That's right.

04:20I really believe that.

04:21They'll be as good as any of them.

04:23And then you'll have some laggards, and we'll work with them.

04:28And we can all tell you who the laggards will be right now, probably, but let's not

04:31get into that.

04:33But we'll work with them, and we're going to make them — they'll do a job.

04:37I think they'll do a job.

04:38And they'll go to sections of the state.

04:40For instance, New York, you'll have a Manhattan, and you'll have a Suffolk County, and you'll

04:45have a Nassau County, and you'll have Westchester County.

04:49You'll do four or five or six of them.

04:50You have upstate New York.

04:52And those counties, I think, are going to do very well.

04:54And I think, ultimately, Manhattan should do very well.

04:57But we'll break it down into sections, and I think it'll be really, really good.

05:02And they're going to be, probably, the tougher ones.

05:04But I think they have a chance to do really well.

05:07But we're going to be returning education, very simply, back to the states where it belongs.

05:14And this is a very popular thing to do.

05:17But much more importantly, it's a common-sense thing to do.

05:20And it's going to work.

05:21Absolutely, it's going to work.

05:23And I can tell you, from dealing with the governors and others in the state, they want

05:28it so badly.

05:29They want to take their children back and really teach their children individually.

05:35Probably the cost will be half, and the education will be maybe many, many times better.

05:42So we look forward to this.

05:44I want to just make one little personal statement.

05:47Teachers, to me, are among the most important people in this country.

05:52And we're going to take care of our teachers.

05:54And I don't care if they're in the union or not in the union, that doesn't matter.

05:59But we're going to take care of our teachers.

06:01And I believe the states will take, actually, better care of them than they are taken care

06:08of right now.

06:09They'll work all sorts of systems, and even merit systems.

06:12Those great teachers are going to be maybe a little bit better rewarded, or maybe that's

06:16the way it should be.

06:17But the states are going to make that decision.

06:19But we're going to love and cherish our teachers, along with our children.

06:23And they're going to work with the parents, and they're going to work with everybody else.

06:27And it's going to be an amazing thing to watch.

06:29And it's really going to be something special.

06:31And, Linda, you're presiding over something that's so important.

06:34And you're going to do a fantastic job, just like you have your whole life.

06:38I know your whole life, I've been watching you.

06:40I've been watching you for a long time.

06:42She's had nothing but success.

06:44So it's tremendous to have you.

06:47And hopefully, you won't be there too long.

06:49But we're going to find something else for you, Linda, okay?

06:52So this will conclude what we are talking about with respect to our most cherished group

07:00of people, and that's our children.

07:02We want to have our children well-educated.

07:05We want them to love going to school.

07:07We have examples of it.

07:09Look at those beautiful, bright-eyed faces.

07:12They are so smart.

07:14They're so smart.

07:18And with that, I'm going to come down, and we're going to sign a very important document.

07:22And we're going to be on our way.

07:24People have wanted to do this for many, many years, for many, many decades.

07:28And I don't know, no president ever got around to doing it.

07:31But I'm getting around to doing it.

07:33So thank you very much.

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