Texas leaders show support for eliminating the Department of Education

DALLAS - President Donald Trump referenced the state of Texas several times while signing executive orders to dismantle the Department of Education.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Attorney General Ken Paxton were all at the White House to support the president for the announcement.

Department of Education Shutdown

What's new:

Trump signed executive orders on Thursday afternoon to begin the process of dismantling the Department of Education.

The department was created by Congress in 1979 under the Carter administration. Its role is to enforce federal laws related to education, including civil rights laws, as well as to handle student loans and grants.

Constitutional lawyers say the president can’t shut it down without help from Congress. But he can severely limit its staffing and actions.

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What they're saying:

"He has the right to set priorities and to direct enforcement of how the laws get put into effect the Congress gives them. So, he's got discretion there. He doesn't have discretion to just ignore it and turn off the tap. And so how much he can do within bounds and how much of it becomes him not doing what Congress has instructed him to do could well be the subject of some litigation," said David Coale, a constitutional lawyer from North Texas.

Trump admitted he’ll eventually need congressional support. Until then, he will be moving key parts of the department to other areas within the federal government.

"The department’s useful functions – Pell grants, Title I funding, resources for children with disabilities and special needs will be preserved, fully preserved," he said. "We’re going to shut it down as quickly as possible. We’re going to return our students to the states."

Returning schools to the states

Local perspective:

Last week, the Department of Education laid off nearly half of its staff, and the Dallas Regional Office was shut down. It’s a move Gov. Abbott said he supports.

"Gov. Abbott supports President Trump’s efforts to decrease federal bureaucracy and return control of education back to the states, where it should belong," the governor’s press secretary said in a statement on Thursday.

The president called out Abbott and Texas schools while announcing his new orders.

"I really believe like some of the governors here today from states that run very, very well including a big state like Texas, but states that very well are going to have education that will be as good as Norway or Denmark, Sweden, Finland and those top countries that do so well with education," Trump said. "And then you’ll have some laggards and we’ll work with them."

The other side:

Last week, former Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa argued states already run the schools. He feared dismantling the Department of Education would only weaken federal protections under the department’s Office for Civil Rights.

It’s the office that investigated Southlake Carroll ISD over complaints of racism and other discrimination, something district officials have denied.

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Department of Education closes Dallas regional office amid layoffs

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There’s also concern about it impacting supplemental funding for poor districts.

"Schools are the last frontier for students of poverty and all students because we accept all students. And so, stay tuned, and we’ll see what happens," Hinojosa said.