Last week, Donald Trump issued an executive order to illegally dismantle the Department of Education. 

Here’s what that will mean for you if it is enacted:

• Increased class sizes because hundreds of thousands of teachers will be fired.

• School districts will be forced to cut services or raise taxes.

• Less money to protect students with disabilities.

• Ending enforcement of Title IX, reducing opportunities for women and girls.

• Cutting college and job training by ending Pell Grants and ending protections for student loan borrowers.

Let’s be clear: Republicans and DOGE are taking drastic actions like dismantling the Department of Education because they want to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and the 1% -- and they’re willing to hurt kids and families along the way.

Last week, I met with students at USD who have worked unbelievably hard to get to where they are (many are first-generation college students), but without Pell Grants and student aid, they may not be able to finish their degrees. There are so many students like them in San Diego and across the country. 

I put out a video on social media and got over 100 comments from folks telling me how Trump’s dismantling of the Department of Education will hurt them – parents worried about their children’s IEPs, teachers worried about their students, and young people worried about their futures.