Jan 16, 2018
12 months after his inauguration, President Trump’s movement on education policy and reform is as spotty as his administration’s track record generally.
A president’s first year is usually make-or-break when it comes to enacting major policies. President Obama pushed hard for health care reform. But aside from a controversial, down-to-the-wire tax reform, what, if anything, has President Trump delivered on education?
President Trump campaigned on a number of education issues, from scrapping the Obama-era Common Core State Standards Initiative to investing $20 billion toward “School Choice” and scaling back the U.S. Department of Education, which has already seen some regulatory slashing under Secretary Betsy DeVos.
So what’s the current President’s report card on education?
Largely mixed, say the experts, when compared to his predecessors’ success with reforms.
But while Congress didn’t give the President $20 billion towards promoting school choice, his administration has rolled back accountability measures under the Every Student Succeeds Act and cut numerous education-related regulations, including 72 guidance documents for special education and students with disabilities.
Another victory was a major change to how 529 college savings plans operate, which now allow parents to apply funds formerly saved for college expenses to the cost of private schooling (but not tutoring). It’s also too early to tell how changes to state and local tax deductions will affect public school funding nationwide, although the outlook has some experts worried.
So as President Trump and the country heads into a Congressional election year, 2018’s prospects for any future education policy and reform remain a shaky “TBD”.
banner image from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2018/01/how_much_has_trump_accomplishe.html
Year One Check-In: What’s Trump Done on K-12 Compared to Other Presidents? http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2018/01/how_much_has_trump_accomplishe.html
