WASHINGTON (Michigan News Source) – President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday afternoon which kickstarts the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.

“My administration will take all lawful steps to shut down the department as quickly as possible,” Trump said at a press conference.  He referenced several conservative governors in attendance, saying “These governors want education to come back to the states.”

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Just before signing, Trump added, “We are returning education back to the states where it belongs. We are going to love and cherish our teachers along with our children,” Trump said.

Newly installed Education Secretary Linda McMahon, whose position may soon be moot, is fully in support of the move. Earlier this month she said, “The federal bureaucratic hold on education must end.”

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed The Department of Education Organization Act, which ushered in the new bureaucracy. It’s original intent hinged on equal access to educational opportunities, including specialized programs for students with disabilities.

Last year, the DOE spent $268 billion dollars, which includes expenditures on higher education institutions and K-12 schools. However, despite the increase in funding from $56.9 billion in 1980, The National Assessment of Educational Progress found reading and math scores have only “slightly improved” in the last 46 years.

President Trump and supporters of the dismantling argue the federal government will still play a role in key protections and distribution of funds to low income students. He also argues the move will return education oversight to state and local control.

The action is likely to draw a legal fight in the courts. Opponents of the President’s actions include many Democrats and teachers’ unions. They argue that the department helps oversee foundational education skills, like reading and writing, along with the disbursement of financial aid and funding and civil rights cases. However, those departments could easily be folded into others, like the U.S. Treasury or the Justice Department.