One day after President Donald Trump issued an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, Kevin Dehmer, New Jersey’s education commissioner, expressed the Garden State’s objectives moving forward.
“This does not change the New Jersey Department of Education’s efforts to ensure all New Jersey students have equitable access to a high-quality education and achieve academic excellence,” Dehmer said in a statement released March 21.
Dehmer added that the N.J. DOE “stands ready to continue building on our record of providing school districts with the critical resources and supports they need to help all students unlock their full learning potential. … Whether in funding or in ensuring access to supportive educational environments, the N.J. DOE will continue its longstanding efforts to foster a world-class education system that meets the needs of all students.”
On March 25, Dehmer talked about U.S. DOE resources and more during his monthly virtual meeting with AFTNJ PreK-12 leaders: “There’s a pragmatic and a realistic side to this, and then there’s a legal side to it,” he said. “Legally, a lot of the things that have come out are not binding because Congress has authority to establish the U.S. Education Department. And they’ve established one, and they’ve funded it, and they’ve funded these programs. The president and [the U.S. DOE] don’t have the authority to just unilaterally change all that, but they can make tweaks. And let’s be honest: We should read the writing that’s on the wall, that there are going to be changes coming. So we’re trying to plan for what may come.”
Among the other reactions to Trump’s intent to dismantle the U.S. DOE:
• Gov. Phil Murphy issued a statement March 20 that said in part, “I urge New Jersey’s Congressional delegation to protect federal funding and preserve the legally prescribed functions of the U.S. Department of Education. My administration will take every possible step we can to support their efforts.”
• AFT President Randi Weingarten pointed out that the Trump administration’s U.S. DOE plans are unpopular and illegal. “No one likes bureaucracy, and everyone’s in favor of more efficiency, so let’s find ways to accomplish that. But this isn’t efficiency, it’s evisceration,” Weingarten said March 20. The AFT and AAUP joined a coalition of unions, educators and school districts in filing a lawsuit March 24 against the Trump administration.
• Like she did March 25 in the virtual meeting with N.J. DOE’s Dehmer, AFTNJ’s Higgins addressed “block grants” March 21 in her written testimony on New Jersey’s fiscal year 2025-26 budget. (Read Higgins’ testimony here.)
• The NAACP and other advocacy organizations also filed a lawsuit March 24, with the Education Law Center serving as co-counsel. “We cannot afford to let the Trump administration throw our public schools into chaos,” ELC Executive Director Robert Kim said.
