LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday designed to take steps towards dismantling the Department of Education.
"The United States spends more money on education by far than any other country and spends likewise by far more money per pupil than any country, it is not even close, yet we rank near the bottom of the list in terms of success," said Trump.
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It was a campaign promise to shut it down but the Department isn't closing its doors completely, that would require an act of Congress.
While layoffs and cuts have been happening already, this order allows the Education Secretary to take steps towards the department's closure.
Trump says the department's useful functions such as Pell Grants, Title I funding, resources for children with disabilities and special needs will be preserved.
"We are going to be returning education very simply back to the states where it belongs," said Trump.
How the department's closure could benefit states financially is still to be determined.
"We have no idea what is coming to us from the federal government," said Issac Barron, a member of the Clark County School District Board of Trustees.
Concerns surrounding the impact of looming cuts were top of mind here in the valley as the Clark County School District went through the process of interviewing superintendent candidates.
"Things like Social Security, Medicaid, the Department of Education, helping us to feed our children that are very much are doubt. We are going to need a leader that brings stability," said Barron.
I also talked to Elaine Rubin Director of Corporate Communication at Edvisors. They help students plan and pay for higher education.
"We are getting a lot of questions as what does this mean for loans, what does this mean for financial aid? At this point in time, we have been told multiple times that federal aid programs will continue as they are required by the law," said Rubin.
Ruben used to work for the Federal Office of Student Aid at the Department of Education. While the higher education funding is there now she says she has questions about what will happen moving forward with federal aid.
"We haven't had an answer as to how they will proceed and how they will move forward and administer these programs without any issues, delays or problems with not only the FAFSA but even getting those schools set up to make sure they are ready to award financial aid to their students."
