The Trump administration proposes a $ 7.1 billion reduction from the Ministry of Education

The Trump administration plans to cut the Department of Education's funding by $ 7.1 billion from last year's budget, as part of the proposed budget for next year.

The draft budget suggests eliminating 29 programs, including post-school programs and summer programs for students from very poor regions.

It is unlikely that the draft budget will be adopted by Congress – especially under the control of the Democrats, but it gives an overview of the priorities of the Trump administration for the next financial year.

In a statement released Monday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said the proposed cuts testify to a "commitment to spend taxpayers' money wisely and efficiently by consolidating or eliminating redundant and inefficient federal programs ".

She also said that the "essential budget concerns freedom of education", an apparent sign of the question of choice of school – an objective that DeVos tried to defend during his tenure at the head of the department .

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The proposed budget includes the DeVos School Choice Platform, asking for a $ 60 million increase for the Charters Schools program.

The budget also calls for $ 700 million for security measures in schools at several agencies, including the Department of Education, the Department of Justice and the Health and Social Services.

"After the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, the President created the Federal School Safety Commission to assess and develop federal, regional and local policy recommendations to prevent violence in schools," reads the project. 2020 budget.

"The budget provides for approximately $ 700 million, an increase of $ 354 million over the 2019 budget, grants to the departments of Education, Justice and Health and Social Services to give States and school districts with the necessary resources to implement the Commission's recommendations, such as mental health care, develop threat assessments and improve the school climate ".

The president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, issued a statement in response to the proposed cuts, criticizing DeVos' leadership within the department.

"Rather than increasing funding for children with special needs or those living below the poverty line in rural or urban America, or addressing the issues raised in their own safety report, DeVos is once again looking for to divert funding for private purposes of choice, Weingarten said.

The statement continues: "However, if they listened to parents, they would hear that the vast majority of parents want to choose a well-funded public school."

Washington Senator Patty Murray, the highest Democratic leader of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Retirement, also criticized the budget's proposals by the Ministry of Education, saying it showed DeVos point was completely out of sync.

"Secretary DeVos is proposing to invest heavily in students, teachers, public schools and even school safety – all in support of her extreme privatization proposal that nobody has asked for. This is not a serious budget proposal, and I will once again work with Republicans in Congress to ensure that every student has access to quality public education in their neighborhood, "said Murray in a statement.