Silence Is Golden, But It’s Fool’s Gold
Anthony R. Candela
In the third calendar month of the second Trump Administration, the federal government continues its seemingly chaotic, break-it and fix-it approach to down-sizing both the reach and cost of the federal government. I’d like to focus on the Department of Education (ED), which is under a “demolition order,” as a case in point. What must it be like to be Linda McMahon, the newly confirmed Secretary of Education? What kind of person must she be? She strove to win the position, adhering to the Administration’s marching orders to close down the Department insofar as the Law permits and then be a willing partner in its elimination. The focus of the Administration’s animus has been on public education with the goal being to get the federal government out of the business of regulating and funding how States and localities educate our children and eliminating the expense and bureaucracy it says has grown too large.
Meanwhile, ideology abounds. Across the federal government, diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) programs and all references to the philosophy and practice of DEI are being eliminated from federal government web sites, human resources offices, and general discussion. There is even a list of words the federal government has “banished” from the federal lexicon. Compiled by the NY Times, the list includes such words as accessible, activism, advocacy, anti-racism, barrier, biologically male/female, climate science, cultural competence, disability, seemingly anything using the word “diversity,” environmental quality, implicit bias, inequity, injustice, LGBTQ, marginalized, person-centered, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic, underserved, and many more. (This silencing reminds me of the coerciveness of the Nixon Administration’s list of political enemies exposed by counsel John Dean in 1973 and which purpose was to “screw” people Nixon didn’t like by way of tax audits, grant withholding and other painful methods.)
Missing from the discussion is any mention of protections for children with disabilities, the province of the Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). We know from decades of experience that it took a major law, the Education for All Handicapped Children’s Act of 1975 (now called Individuals With Disabilities Education Act – IDEA) to protect the rights of children with disabilities and give them the type of special education and accommodations necessary to promote their receiving education in the least restrictive environment, mainly in the public school system. We also know that without strict Law and Regulation, these students are often left behind.
Also omitted from the ED conversation is the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), under OSERS, the body that regulates and funds the Federal-State Vocational Rehabilitation system. It is responsible for preparing people with disabilities for the workplace, getting them to work and paying taxes and most of the time, completely off the disability support rolls. RSA also provides grants to universities and other entities for professional development. Several generations of Rehabilitation Counselors (my profession) have been supported through their Master’s degree and other types of development programs by RSA grants. I currently work for one of those programs. I fear that the cut-and-slash approach the Administration has been using will cause collateral damage that is not contemplated or which will prove intolerable for those no longer served or even to the politics of the Administration. Meanwhile, the damage will have been done. Already, for example, I am aware of career professionals at RSA having recently taken their retirement.
Many will remember the second President Bush’s push to improve student achievement, especially standardized test scores, across the nation. His No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 was yet the latest version of the various Education Acts that govern public education. The ED was responsible for its administration. In 2015, the ‘Every Student Succeeds Act’ (ESSA) pared NCLB down, something people should remember happened under President Obama, a Democrat, with the idea of lessening federal government pressure on State and local schools. Tweaks of the education system have regularly occurred over the years and even though calls for the dissolution of ED began as soon as the Carter Administration created it in 1979, it has held together. Perhaps another tweak is in order, but it should happen via an Act of Congress and not by decree.
It is time for the current Administration to stop its “march to the sea” and use the rule of Law to accomplish orderly and smart change. We need to avoid the destructiveness that the current way of doing things is already causing, everything from sagging stock markets, to frayed and perhaps permanently damaged relationships with our allies, to economic hard times for the average American. This may not be what the current President wanted, but his and especially his henchmen’s heedless approaches are bringing it down on our heads just the same.
Saying aloud what should not remain silent.
Books by Tony…
Stand Up Or Sit Out: Memories and Musings Of a Blind Wrestler, Runner, and All-around Regular Guy
A memoir about life lessons learned, especially through sports
Vision Dreams: A Parable
A sci-fi novella about how a dysfunctional society forces people to go to extremes, including four blind people who seek out artificial vision.
What Should Not Remain Silent
A sampling of moments in the author’s life between June 2021 and April 2024 and the essays he felt compelled to write about them. The pieces in this book illustrate his reactions to a wide variety of issues, from disability to diversity and inclusion to war, peace, and politics.
https://www.dldbooks.com/anthonyrcandela/
Or go to Amazon, then Books, then Anthony R. Candela to purchase it.
The book is available in paperback, hardcover, and e–book formats.
Tony Candela has worked as a Rehabilitation Counselor, supervisor, manager consultant and administrator for more than 45 years in the field of blindness and visual impairment. His work currently includes the development of blindness professionals. He is a “retired” athlete, loves movies, sports, reading, writing, and music, including dabbling in guitar.