Randi Weingarten AFT President | American Federation of Teachers
In response to a recent release by the Trump administration, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten has expressed concern over a memo threatening to withdraw Title I funding for low-income students if school districts refuse to follow the administration’s policy agenda.
Weingarten criticized the administration's timing, stating, “In the middle of a school year, the president is trying to bully the very same school districts that he insisted, just a few weeks ago, should be in charge of education. He’s wielding a cudgel of billions in federal aid to tens of millions of children, of all races and ethnicities, to force educators to kowtow to his politics and ideology.”
She questioned the potential impacts on school activities and staffing, asking, “If a school’s reading specialist is using a book the president doesn’t like, is the federal government going to deny the district funding for after-school care? If a school is celebrating Jewish Heritage Month or Juneteenth, does it lose tutoring support? If an educator is teaching about Jim Crow, is summer school now in jeopardy?”
Weingarten described the situation as contradictory, pointing out that, “On the one hand, the administration wants to abolish the Education Department and dismantle its role in schools, and on the other, it wants to dictate curriculum in minute detail and act as a de facto HR director.”
She underscored the illegality of the memo’s propositions, highlighting, “This is a power grab and a money grab—and it’s also blatantly unlawful. We know the administration wants to divert federal education funds into block grants, vouchers or tax cuts, but it’s simply not legal; only Congress can do that."
Weingarten emphasized that the legal basis used in the memo did not apply to K-12 schools, noting, "The authority cited in the memo, was about higher education, not K-12 schools. It’s why we sued the administration over its previous ‘Dear Colleague’ letter, and why this memo just reinforces our concern that political ideology, not kids’ learning, is their priority.”
In conclusion, she called for more support for public education, asserting that, “The president should be strengthening public education, not destroying it. He should be helping the most vulnerable kids, not hurting them.”
Randi Weingarten along with Fedrick C. Ingram, Secretary-Treasurer, and Evelyn DeJesus, Executive Vice President, released the statement on behalf of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. Photographs and illustrations related to this statement require permission from AFT for use.
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