Indiana’s Attorney General Discusses Department of Education Being Dismantled

Source: (PHOTO: Todd Rokita)

INDIANAPOLIS–You won’t miss it, is the message from Indiana Atty. Gen. Todd Rokita, talking about the possibility that the federal Dept. of Education will be dismantled by the Trump administration and Congress.

Rokita was dismissive of the DOE’s impact since its inception in 1979 under Pres. Jimmy Carter, in an interview Friday on WIBC’s Hammer and Nigel Show. He said he believes the job of educating kids lies with the parents and not with the federal government. Rokita pointed out the lack of any provision for the administration of education in the U.S. Constitution.

“There is a right in our state constitution for a public education. So, this is gonna allow us as state and local government and as local communities to maintain and nurture that right,” he said.

He said he believes people shouldn’t worry about the transition.

“There’s still gonna be a state department of education. The governor is still gonna have a significant role,” he said.

Rokita said his office will still have a “Parents Bill of Rights” and Eyes on Education portal, “so parents can have the transparency and see what’s going on in their schools better”.

Rokita noted that his experience with the DOE while he was in Congress was that it was a “pathetic, bloated, horrendous department”.

Still, some people worry that the administration of grants and programs for disabled people will be in jeopardy if the infrastructure is lost. Rokita said he has a 17-year-old son with special needs, but that “no one’s hair needs to be lit on fire”.

“I promise you parents won’t know it’s gone because they haven’t done anything anyway,” he said.