Exclusive: As President-elect Donald Trump privately selects his cabinet, a state official rumored to be on the shortlist for education secretary has announced plans to move the department's responsibilities to states and parents. Fox News Digital has learned that the plan has been announced.
In a memo to Oklahoma parents and school administrators, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters said federal agencies “impose harmful policies and control what is taught in schools. They used taxpayer money to take over the education system in order to do so.”
Walters said he brings several issues to the fore both in the memo and in what he calls the Trump Education Advisory Team, which is expected to be announced Monday.
The Department of Education is a relatively new, independent Cabinet agency created under former President Jimmy Carter, and his successor, Ronald Reagan, called for its abolishment in his 1982 State of the Union address.
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The tenets include ending “social indoctrination” in the classroom and promoting patriotism through the curriculum.
In an interview Friday, Walters said his team will organize school priorities in line with the Trump administration's education policies, based on what President-elect Trump has indicated he will act on in that regard.
With the Department of Education expected to close, Walters said he will plan how to fill the hole left by federal programs and develop legislative recommendations.
“We're going to shut down the Department of Education and bring education back to the states,” President Trump said at a rally in Indiana, Pennsylvania, in October.
“And we're going to do it fast. We're going to get top talent.” [as secretary]'', he said, citing former Congressman Lee Zeldin (RN.Y.) and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who were with him.
Mr. Walters also said that he remains “attention from the Republican Party” in this respect. education week.
He said Friday that Democrats have been unable to challenge Trump on education policy because Trump's positions already resonate with Americans, alluding to recent academic debates in states such as Virginia. Deaf, he said.
“We will be the tip of the spear enacting President Trump's policies, ensuring that this is fully consistent with the most aggressive, comprehensive, and conservative education policy this country has ever seen.” “To do so,” he said.
Walters is confident that President Trump will follow through with this policy and shut down the government, thereby reducing the burden of bureaucracy, layoffs and social policy edicts on state agencies. He said he was confident that the aptitude of the students would increase.
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classroom desk. (St. Petersburg)
“So President Biden came out in the middle of the summer; told us “I had to put the boys in the women’s bathroom,” he said.
Walters said whether President Trump ultimately chooses him or not, he remains focused on aligning Oklahoma with President Trump's policies and creating a roadmap for other states.
Improving education will go far beyond the curriculum and will have a lasting impact on the economy, jobs and more, he added.
“What parents wanted to hear was… Our schools are here to teach our kids that this is an evil, racist country and that we're building this kind of indoctrination. That doesn’t mean there are,” he said. “I want to support families and school selection.”
The transition plan he created also outlines how the education system can continue to operate without the influence of teachers' unions associated with the current top-down system.
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Department of Education building in Washington DC (Erin Scott/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He said Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, displayed a photo of himself followed by a photo of Trump on a screen at a recent union convention, and his response prompted pro-choice candidates to talk Tuesday. He said it was a “decisive victory.”
“It's very exciting to see this agenda come to fruition,” he said.
In the current Congress, Representative Barry Moore, Republican of Alabama, also wrote: invoice Abolish the Department of Education. It was referred to the committee and remains.
Fox News Digital asked the Trump campaign for information on its list of Cabinet nominees, and also asked the Department of Education for answers on Walters' plans. A representative of the latter introduced Fox News Digital to the Trump campaign.
