Pursuant to clause 13 of Rule 1, the House stands, the House stands adjourned until 1 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18th, 2025.
unidentified
The House is gaveled out.
Members will be back for legislative business on February 24th.
This week, the House passed various bills related to veterans, finance, law enforcement evasion penalties, and the authority of Congress over executive regulations.
Off the floor, late yesterday, House Republicans advanced their budget resolution for fiscal year 2025, sending it to the full chamber for further consideration.
Also on the congressional checklist, a spending package to fund the federal government before it runs out of money in a month.
Follow live coverage of the House here on C-SPAN, on our website, C-SPAN.org, and on our free app, C-SPANNOW.
I've ever seen in my life my kids didn't go to the public schools in Duval County because they were so substandard.
And, you know, unfortunately, there are good teachers in the Duval County system, but they have to buy materials for the kids themselves.
So, John, then when you hear the Education Secretary and Republicans talk about sending education down to the state level and not having a federal government agency, what's your reaction to that idea?
unidentified
Bad idea.
We have a governor, a racist governor, who is trying to take African-American studies out of school.
African-American studies are part of American history.
And this banana republic leader that we have who looks like Matt from Mad Magazine, but you could cut me off if you wanted to.
But this guy is a racist.
And that's the problem.
If you let the states handle it, you're going to get, there's not going to be any continuity on how people should be educated in this country.
One thing we don't need, one thing we don't need is for Christian religion, Christian nationalism, they put in our schools a Trump Bible on every desk.
We don't need to be converted.
You know what I'm saying?
So this is not normal.
We shouldn't be asking, what should we do?
We should be asking, how can we stop this takeover?
Anna, we are getting your thoughts this morning on changes to the education system in this country.
Good morning.
unidentified
Good morning.
I cannot believe that all our children, and I mean all our children, what this change, what this new administration is trying to do is erase history, erase difference, erase everything that means that you are a human being and reducing it to saving money.
Anna, you may be interested in this moment from the confirmation hearing for Linda McMahon to serve as Education Secretary.
Here's Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut questioning the nominee about President Trump's executive order eliminating funding for programs that support DEI, that's diversity, equity, and inclusion, and what that means for public schools.
If a school in Connecticut celebrates Martin Luther King Day and has a series of events and programming teaching about black history, are they in violation of a policy that says schools should stop running DEI programs?
The celebration of Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month should be celebrated throughout all of our schools.
I believe that Martin Luther King was one of the strongest proponents of making sure that we look at all of our populations when he said that he would hope that his children wouldn't be judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.
And I think that is the fundamental basis that we should celebrate Black History Month.
Point has closed down all ethnic clubs so the Society of Black Engineers no longer can meet because they believe that to be in compliance with this order they cannot have groups structured around ethnic or racial affiliations.
Would schools, would public schools be in violation of this order?
Would they risk funding if they had clubs that students could belong to based on their racial or ethnic identity?
I mean, you're saying that it's a possibility that if a school has a club for Vietnamese American students or black students where they meet after school, that they could be potentially in jeopardy of receiving federal funding?
Lyndon McMahon sitting before senators yesterday at a confirmation hearing, getting peppered with questions about how she would steer the Education Department in the second term of the Trump administration.
The Education Department this morning is our topic for our conversation.
What changes would you make?
Here are the numbers for the federal department.
It began operating in 1980.
It employs 4,400 people and has a budget of $238 billion for 2024, a 1.8% of the overall federal budget.
1.8% of it is this money for the Education Department.
Jerry and Orr, Minnesota, or Republican.
Jerry, we'll go to you next.
unidentified
Thanks for taking my call.
I believe in dismantling the federal department of education.
Like you say, it began in 1980.
Before 1980, we never had a Department of Education on a federal level.
Every state has departments of education.
Every local school district has duly elected people who run the school districts.
And that's good enough.
We did a very good job with that for about 200 years, and we should dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
People probably don't know the history of this, but in 1954, they closed the schools in Prince A. William County and rather obeyed the law of the land.
And I went there in 1965 as a volunteer student.
And some of the people who lived there told me that when they got through with the, when the white kids got through with the books, then they gave them to the black kids who were all raggedy and torn up.
So we need the federal government to overlook things.
And I really get tired of people always bad mouthing education because we live in a state of Virginia where it used to be against the law to teach black people how to read.
All right, Ruby, NPR.org has an article that outlines what the U.S. Education Department does and doesn't do.
Two of the most important federal funding streams to public schools are Title I, which provides money to help districts that serve lower income communities.
In 2023, the Education Department received more than $18 billion for Title I.
The IDA, IDEA, Individuals with Disability Education Act, this is another funding stream, which provides money to help districts serve students with disabilities.
In fiscal year 2024, the department received more than $15 billion for this funding stream.
Both of these, like the department itself, created by separate acts of Congress.
Title I was signed into law in 1965, and this Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1975.
They cannot be unwound except by Congress.
Large changes to either are unlikely as the money enjoys broad bipartisan support.
Carrie in Locust Grove, Georgia.
Good morning to you.
unidentified
Carrie.
Good morning, Greta.
Thanks for taking my call.
I'm retired Navy 20 years, but I also taught high school ROTC for 20 years.
And throwing money at things, it probably helps in a certain way.
Lack of Parental Involvement00:05:45
unidentified
But what I see is the biggest problem is the lack of parental involvement.
If we can find ways to make parents more responsible for the child's education, I think that would be a big help.
My first nine years of teaching, I taught at a private Catholic school.
If a kid didn't obey the rules and, say, for example, got Saturday school, the parents would have to pay for them to go to Saturday school because the school had to pay the teacher.
So financially, if it's an impact to families financially, that might wake up some of these parents.
But I'm telling you, Greta, these parents don't get involved.
They don't get involved with their kids.
Only area I see them get involved with their kids is sports.
When it comes to academics, you very seldom see them.
I got a friend that teaches honors classes.
He said he had four parents come for open house this year.
I think that there's a social contract that exists between the federal government and individuals and organizations.
And I just, I was born in 58.
I remember segregation.
I remember desegregation.
I was young, but it impacted me.
I'm really at this oral level.
It really meant a lot to me because I lived in a society that I felt treated people differently socioeconomically.
If you came from one background, you got this, and so on and so forth.
So to me, I think it's a break of a contract, and I respectfully disagree with changing the federal government's oversight.
I don't know the long-term impact.
I don't know the specific cuts that are going on.
But I know that when you leave communities to their own choices, sometimes those choices are not in the best interest of the community.
And I just remember on desegregation.
I remember Congress originally, I think it was in 1896, had determined that segregation between people of color and people that were not was legalized.
And then it took until the 50s to reverse that decision.
And I just remember seeing some horrible things on television.
Your concern is if you do away with the federal education department, that states could reverse course and go back to that part of our society, part of our history of segregation.
unidentified
Yes, ma'am, I do.
I grew up in a privileged life, and I always felt some remorse for people who did not.
And I could see the differences, and I could see discrimination occurring, even if it wasn't in my own backyard.
Why Math Curriculum Needs Update00:06:01
unidentified
I could see it on a global scale.
It still occurs.
We have racism in this country.
And I think it gives power to those that will perhaps misuse their power because of their perspective.
And I think that when you look at things from the top down, I would prefer that we maintain any ability to not go back in that direction.