Interfaith Alliance Condemns Trump’s Executive Order to Dismantle Department of Education, End Key Services and Protections for Students

WASHINGTON, DC – Interfaith Alliance, a national leader in defending religious freedom and multi-faith democracy, condemned the Trump Administration’s executive order calling on the Department of Education to take steps to close the department and give all authority for education to the states.

The Trump Administration’s action largely ignores the fact that only an act of Congress can actually close a federal department. It comes on the heels of their dismissal of over 1,000 critical employees, part of an obvious attempt to prevent the Department of Education from carrying out many of its key functions. 

Interfaith Alliance Senior Fellow Maggie Siddiqi previously served in the Department of Education as Director of the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Siddiqi shared the following statement: 

“The Trump administration is destroying essential education services for our nation’s students in order to fund tax cuts for billionaires. This executive order ignores the fact that authority over curricula already rests entirely with states and localities, and not with the federal government. What it will do is ensure that students will face more discrimination and hardship, will have larger class sizes and fewer supports, and fewer opportunities to pursue higher education. Students with disabilities, students from low-income families, and students applying for Pell Grants to afford college will bear the brunt of this appalling action.

“ For many decades, the Department has worked to uphold the civil rights and civil liberties of all students, including the rights of all students to engage in constitutionally protected prayer and religious expression in public schools. That’s because it is a fundamental American principle that every student deserves opportunity, resources, and support to reach their full potential. 

“Shutting down the Department will strip federal civil rights protections from students, decimate special education and other programs, and leave states and districts to fend for themselves. It destroys its critical role as a guarantor of religious freedom protections for the 90 percent of American students who attend public schools.

“All people who value education and freedom should oppose this appalling effort to destroy essential services for students, all for the purpose of undercutting civil rights protections and to fund tax cuts for Elon Musk and other billionaires. To support all students, no matter their identity, backgrounds or beliefs, we must oppose the Trump Administration’s attack on the Department of Education.” 

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Interfaith Alliance is a network of people of diverse faiths and beliefs from across the country working together to build a resilient democracy and fulfill America’s promise of religious freedom and civil rights not just for some, but for all. We mobilize powerful coalitions to challenge Christian nationalism and religious extremism, while fostering a better understanding of the healthy boundaries between religion and government. We advocate at all levels of government for an equitable and just America where the freedoms of belief and religious practice are protected, and where all persons are treated with dignity and have the opportunity to thrive. For more information visit interfaithalliance.org.

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