In response to the Trump administration signing an executive order calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, Tarah Demant, Director of Programs with Amnesty International USA said the following:
“As the Trump administration calls for the U.S. Department of Education to be dismantled, we, again, remind the U.S. government of its obligation to ensure all students in the U.S. continue to have equal access to education, which is the opposite of what eliminating this department will achieve.
“The Department of Education manages multiple federal programs and oversees the implementation of civil rights protections that work to ensure that all students – regardless of their race, gender, wealth, (dis)ability, immigration status, neighborhood, and other factors – are not discriminated against and have access to their human right to education. Eliminating the Department of Education will undoubtedly weaken these protections for students across the country. The administration, completely disregarding its obligation to ensure all students can fully access their right to education, knows that marginalized students will suffer the most from this move.
“While education is a human right in itself, it is also an empowerment right, indispensable to the realization of other human rights, including the ability to actively participate in the political life of the country.
“An educated citizenry is a threat only to a government bent on violating human rights. The Trump administration should be increasing educational protections and resources instead of weakening them and should commit to strengthening access to human rights instead of stripping them from people.”
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