BOSTON – The American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts President Jessica Tang released the following statement in support of the letter sent by Massachusetts Secretary of Education and Interim Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Patrick Tutwiler today in response to the U.S. Department of Education’s recent memo threatening to withdraw billions of dollars in Title I support for low-income students if school districts fail to enact the White House’s divisive policy agenda:
“Holding hostage funding that supports our poorest, neediest children to coerce schools into letting the federal government supersede local authority on curriculum is not only heartless, but it’s antithetical to their justification for dismantling the Department of Education. They claim they want to give states and local governments the ability to oversee education — a power our state and local school boards already have. Now, they’re trying to insert themselves into the schools and undermine that local control.
“This hypocrisy and contradiction will continue to sow chaos in our public schools, with our neediest students being forced to shoulder the largest part of the burden.
“Secretary Tutwiler and the Healey Administration are taking proactive steps to protect our children, our schools, and our educators during these turbulent times and sending the message to all that Massachusetts students deserve safe, diverse, and welcoming schools. We remain committed to ensuring all students are celebrated for their diversity, have equitable access to opportunities, and can learn in inclusive environments.”
ABOUT THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS MASSACHUSETTS
The AFT Massachusetts, a strong voice for collaborative education reform that is good for students and fair to educators, represents more than 25,000 public school employees, higher education faculty and staff, and public librarians.
