“These aren’t normal times.”
With those words, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, summarized the thorny situation confronting our nation. Offering the final keynote address during the Summit for Religious Freedom (SRF), Weingarten succinctly laid out the threats facing public education under the Trump administration.
She began by outlining what’s at stake: Public education in America, she noted, has historically been a state issue. It remains that way, largely, but now the federal government provides one out of every seven dollars public school districts receive. The federal government also provides services to 26 million youngsters, many of whom live in poverty or face learning challenges, and, through the U.S. Department of Education, it enforces the nation’s civil rights laws.
That money and those programs are designed to provide opportunity for all. But under President Donald Trump, the very idea that the federal government has a role to play in leveling the playing field is under attack, even as Trump is trying to dismantle the Education Department.
Weingarten warned that this is nothing less than an assault on core American values. “In America,” she said, “if you believe in opportunity, the thing you don’t do is get rid of the department that provides opportunity.”
But she did more than just list grievances. She reminded SRF attendees that 65% of Americans oppose abolishing the Department of Education. She pointed to the protests against Trump’s agenda, one of which drew millions of people nationwide during the weekend of SRF.
Americans, Weingarten said, support public education, the system chosen by families to educate 90% of our nation’s children. They consistently vote against private school vouchers when they appear on the ballot. “People are starting to come forward and say, ‘Not on my watch,’” she said.
Outlining a multi-point agenda, she called on Americans to attend school board meetings, organize teach-ins, engage parents and communities and keep the pressure on lawmakers. “The only way we actually get to keep our republic is if we the people do something about it,” she noted.
Weingarten concluded by reminding SRF attendees all that’s at stake: “Kids must be free to be themselves, kids must be free to decide what they want to exercise in religious practice or not practice at all.” Fundamental U.S. values are at risk, she said, defiantly adding, “And I’ll be damned if I let anyone take that away from us.”
Weingarten and others who addressed SRF reminded us that, as challenging as these times may be, we still have hope, and we still have the choice to get active. Already a groundswell of opposition to Trump policies is building. Echoing an important message voiced by SRF speakers throughout the conference, she insisted that we can get this country back on track — but we have to be willing to fight for it.