From PBS NewsHour.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday seeking to, in his words, “take all lawful steps to shut down” the U.S. Department of Education.

Surrounded by schoolchildren in the East Room of the White House, the president said some services handled by the department – including Pell grants for low-income college students, Title I funding for schools with high populations of low-income students, and resources for children with disabilities and special needs – will be preserved, but “redistributed to various other agencies and departments that will take very good care of them.”

In a statement, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said control over education would be sent back to states, “where it so rightly belongs.” School curriculum is already determined at the state and local level.

“Instead of filtering resources through layers of federal red tape, we will empower states to take charge and advocate for and implement what is best for students, families, and educators in their communities,” McMahon said.

According to the most recent PBS News/NPR/Marist poll, conducted in late February, 63 percent of Americans said they either oppose or strongly oppose getting rid of the Department of Education, which was created by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. Completely dismantling the agency requires congressional approval.

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