The nation’s top education leader, US Education Secretary Linda McMahon, visited Connecticut on Thursday as part of the Department of Education’s ‘History Rocks Tour,’ a 50-state initiative tied to the nation’s upcoming 250th birthday. McMahon, a Connecticut resident who previously ran unsuccessfully for Senate, stopped in Seymour, where students took part in a history quiz.
Addressing Controversy
McMahon addressed controversy surrounding the tour, which has faced pushback in some communities due to ties to partisan groups, including Turning Point USA. Critics have raised concerns that the tour may be promoting a specific ideology, but McMahon argued that the program is focused on celebrating America and its history.
‘It’s really questionable about that because if you’ve seen [at the Seymour stop], what these programs are like, I think there was maybe a lot of misperception about what the programs might be,’ McMahon said in an interview. ‘But this was really just about our country and a lot of state-specific questions.’
Education Reform
The visit comes as McMahon and President Donald Trump push to dismantle the US Department of Education, shifting more responsibility to states. McMahon believes that the responsibility for education rests with the states, as they know their students better. However, critics argue that this effort would lead to funding cuts rather than increased local control.
‘The only thing they’re doing under this umbrella of returning it to the states is cutting funding by collapsing grants and then cutting them,’ said Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association. ‘So this illusion that we’re somehow being privileged with getting some autonomy is just a total and complete fallacy.’
McMahon also expressed her opposition to so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in the state, stating that the department is working to change programs that do not align with the administration’s goals when federal funding is involved.
Original reporting: NBC Connecticut — read the source article.
