Teachers Union boss Randy Weingarten said in a recent podcast appearance that President Donald Trump's plan to end the Department of Education would mean more funding for school choice vouchers.
Weingarten's comments came in a podcast interview with Molly Jong-Fast. He spoke about the implications of Trump's spending reforms, particularly his plan to end the Department of Education. Weingarten said cutting around $100 billion in funds in the sector would benefit tax cuts primarily for wealthy people, or “also harmful” – would be redirected to the state as a “block grant.”
“We know what Texas does, for example,” Weingarten told John Fast. “They use it for vouchers, so they don't give it [federal funding] To the kids who have it now, they just give it for the voucher. ”
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“And frankly, from a voucher perspective, what we see in all our programs right now is not working for our kids,” Weingarten continued. “They basically go now. It's a tax credit for people who are already sending their kids to private schools. So it's a redistribution of income.”
Randi Weingarten is the president of the American Federation of Teachers, the second largest teachers union in the United States behind the National Education Association. (Reuters/Getty)
Trump has not taken formal steps to dismantle the department, but media reports show that his education secretary, Linda McMahon, is approaching signing an executive order directing the process to begin. Last month, the president saw the education sector as a “big fraud” in a press conference from the oval office “which needs to close immediately.”
In addition to his expected enforcement actions to dismantle the department, Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 29 to expand “educational freedom” for families through various school selection programs, including vouchers.
“We're fighting to protect our children and protect their funds, and don't let Donald Trump or Elon Musk glom it for billionaires tax cuts or voucher block grants,” Waingarten replied after John Fast asked what she and her union, the American Federation of Teachers, were doing to fight Trump. Weingarten added that ensuring economic and educational opportunities for American families to achieve their American dreams, whether you're a Republican or Democrat should be a priority.
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“We all need to do more to make sure that American families have what they need to enter the middle class,” Weingarten said.
Randy Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (afthq YouTube channel)
However, while Weingarten may be the belief that funding school choices, particularly for vouchers, does not benefit Americans' economic and educational opportunities, others disagree with the concept.
Rachel Langan, a senior education policy analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation, a Pennsylvania-based public policy think tank, said “simply spending more money” is not the answer to flaws within the US education system.
“Pennsylvania already devotes more than $37 billion to public schools, with over $22,000 per student. However, the latest U.S. Department of Education data shows that 69% of Pennsylvania eighth-grade students are not proficient in mathematics, and 69% are not readable at the grade level. We prioritize funding for school choices.
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“Parents need more educational options, as evidenced by the charter school's ongoing waiting list and the state's ongoing waiting list.
Images of students and classrooms (istock/getty)
“The American Federation for Children in America, a nonprofit advocating for school choices, follows Trump's orders, “It's time for school choices in all states.” “For generations, our country's education system has been held hostage by bureaucrats and school unions who care only about maintaining their own strength, not the needs of American students.”
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Ever since Trump's executive order increased funding for school choices, it has introduced legislation that would make these programs more widely available to a small number of states. In total, 14 states have passed the Universal School Selection Bill.
Fox News Digital reached out to the American Federation of Teachers and Weingarten for comment, but did not respond before it was published.
