WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aiming to dismantle the Department of Education under the guise of efficiency and saving federal dollars. The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) condemns the staffing purges and attempts to shut down the Department of Education, a cabinet-level agency that millions of children rely on for quality, federally funded education.

A slashing of the Department of Education, a vital agency worthy of our tax dollars, would mean that all children’s educational opportunities are limited based on income. At its worst, impoverished children will not have a right to education. For families with means, dismantling the department will mean factoring in new expenses on top of childcare, the high cost of living, and an impossible housing market.

When our government loosens the guardrails that protect individual rights, like the right to education, we invite further threats to civil liberties. In the immediate aftermath of this executive order and emboldened by the White House’s aspirations to shut down the Department of Education, the Tennessee legislature now seeks to challenge Plyler vs. Doe, a Supreme Court ruling with 40 years of legal precedent upholding the rights of undocumented children to attend public schools. The proposed bill will allow Tennessean school boards to ban children from attending public schools based on citizenship status. 

Said Nicole Melaku, NPNA executive director, “Every family and every child deserves a shot at greatness, regardless of income level or citizenship status. Our country is at its best when we ensure everyone belongs, is included in our society, and is empowered to participate in their communities. Without a well-funded, uniform, federal system of education, millions of families and children will be barred from the opportunity to thrive, contribute, and maintain high-quality jobs. 

Under the guise of saving the federal government money, shutting down the Department of Education–and now challenges to Plyler vs. Doe–is an unconstitutional, short-sighted measure that doubles down on who has access to the American Dream. This latest Executive Order is not only a failure to improve the lives of everyday people but rather actively seeks to add more expenses and hardship to families across the United States. Congress must intervene and stop this kind of reckless, lawless policymaking, and we urge our congressional allies to hold firm in opposition.”

Said Lisa Sherman Luna, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition TIRRC and NPNA Board Co-Chair, “Every child, regardless of who they are or where they come from, should have the opportunity to reach their full potential, and the foundation for that opportunity is education. Now, however, extreme politicians are attacking fundamental American rights and liberties, and scapegoating immigrants, including immigrant children, to divide and distract the American public. Make no mistake, these attacks on immigrant kids are part of the broader assault on public education we’re seeing today. Today’s Executive Order and state-level attacks on public education come from the same extremist, bad-faith actors who are actively trying to drain resources from our public schools to disenfranchise communities and equal opportunity for all students.  All of us living in the U.S. should have the freedom to thrive–to be safe in our communities, to have access to education, to earn a living wage, to care and provide for our families, and to contribute to our country. Parents work hard to give their children an opportunity and a better future, a chance to provide for themselves—and, for all children, the foundation of that opportunity is access to education.”

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The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 83 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations with reach across over 42 states. Together with our members, we advance immigrant and refugee equity and inclusion, build and expand immigration legal services and integration programming capacity, and drive campaigns that strengthen democracy through increased civic participation. See our website for more information at partnershipfornewamericans.org.