A Black Executive Perspective. Now presents need to know with the award-winning hyphenated Dr. Nsenga Burton. Dr. Burton, what do we need to know?

Good afternoon and welcome to Need To Know with Dr. Nsenga Burton. I am she. And today I am gonna talk about the gutting of the Department of Education that is happening as we speak. As you know. Um. As you know, uh, 47 appointed Linda McMahon, A WWE, that is Worldwide Wrestling executive, um, to the Post with no experience whatsoever. In fact, uh, Linda McMahon was in the middle of a child sex abuse case, brought by five of their former employees who were teenagers, and said that, that she and her husband, Vince McMahon, who had to step down. Subsequently because of sexual abuse and battery of women in his employment, uh, that they turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of some of the wrestlers when they were teenagers. So that is who was appointed to the lead, the department of Education, which is why that person is not doing anything to stop the gutting. In fact, they already. Have eliminated 1300 jobs. Uh, almost 500 people took buyouts. Uh, and so the Department of Education is already suffering, suffering, uh, due to, uh, a loss of, I think a third of their employees. So at any rate, the, uh, there were lots of lawsuits. 'cause you know, we do a lot of that in the us but unfortunately we have a Supreme Court that is not, um, about, uh, equity and justice. And they are definitely there specifically. And this, these are those conservative judges? Not all of them. There are three who are not conservative judges, but they were put in place by 45. And they, uh, in addition to previous, uh. Presidential appointments are now doing the bidding of conservative forces in the country, thus, and so they have, uh, uh, voted, um, to allow, uh, 47 to continue with the gutting of the Department of Education, uh, understanding, right? 'cause there's been not lots of data, lots of research, lots of experts have said this will negatively impact school children the most. It will negatively impact the lives of children the most. Um, and so even knowing that, you know. Because we abuse teachers. I mean, I just have to say it as a a, an educator, uh, that's just what we kinda sign up for. We know that we are our, our thoughts, our needs are not gonna be paramount ever. They do not listen to the people who are closest to the kids and work with them most closely. Everything is a top down, so we get that. Um, but when you know. That children are going to be harmed. And you continue and you actually appeal all the way up to the Supreme Court. So you can say, I'm going to harm children in scores. Scores of children are gonna be harmed. Many are not gonna be able to go to school. Many are not gonna be able to eat while they're at school. Many of them are not going to have, um, the supports that they need. People who have, uh, children who are neurodivergent or who have special needs, uh, many of those programs are gonna be discontinued. Uh, mental health, uh, awareness, uh, programs, mental health support programs are gonna be discontinued. All of this is gonna happen, um, under the plan to gut the Department of Education. So I would hope that all of these people who voted for 47. And who did nothing When Linda McMahon was, um, appointed and was approved, um, despite the fact that she had a case, um, of child, uh, uh, was in the middle of a case, uh, where she was accused of child sexual abuse along with her husband, who has been proven to be a sexual batterer and abuser, um, then, you know, you know, this is what you're going to get. So it's unfortunate the most vulnerable of our populations are gonna be harmed. They're already being harmed. You know, we have ice rating elementary schools, so, um, they're already being harmed, but the harm is going to be the definitive, um, descriptor of education in the United States. Thus, force and public education thus forth. Um. Uh, going forward. But what's also happening is that by gutting, the Department of Education is also allowing them to pay for this permanent tax cut for billionaires, and it's also allowing them to put more money, um, towards, um. Making public schools more religious schools. So instead of people having to go out and pay for Catholic schools or go to out and pay for Christian schools, they're trying to bring all of that into the current public school education. Um, which, you know, there's supposed to be a separation of churches and state, so it should not be happening. And people who want those, uh, services have been able to go get them. But because the people who vote. For our president can't afford those schools. They now, um, have signed on to basically, uh, disrupt, um, tear down and destroy the schools, um, so that they can get services that are not needed. I mean, I, quite frankly, I'm a parent of a young child. I don't want anybody teaching her about religion outside of our household. She needs whatever she needs to know. She's gonna learn it from us, um, and whatever institutions we associate with, um, from our household. But I don't need strangers teaching my child about religion. And if I do want that, I will vet the schools. I will go and visit the schools. I will learn who the people are and then I'll make that decision for my child and actually pay for it. So that's what you're supposed to do. Um. But people don't wanna pay for anything. Um, and they wanna give billionaires tax breaks. So we'll see how this turns out. Uh, so what you need to know is it's happening. What you need to know that you can lobby for, lobby against this happening. You can lobby for your Congress, people who are trying to, um, keep, um, public education, public and affordable. And, um, also, um. Able to serve all students, not just those who are able-bodied, not just those who, uh, learn in a very linear, uh, traditional way, uh, but for everyone who's there, not just those who speak English, um, but for all students that we have, um, in our communities. So, um, what you need to know is that unfortunately our efforts have failed. Uh, and they will be gutting the Department of Education. So you need to understand that, um, and make some decisions about what your plan is going to be. Are you going to stay in the public school systems? Many people will have to 'cause they will not have alternatives. Are you going to homeschool? A lot of people do, but a lot of people can't homeschool, um, because they have to work. And now that they have changed the requirements for even getting assistance, you can't even get assistance unless you have a job, right? So. You're not gonna be able to work and homeschool at the same time. More than likely, most people won't be able to do that. Um, or are you gonna put 'em in private school, which is gonna be ridiculously expensive? 'cause we are heading into a recession. So it's already expensive. It's gonna be more expensive. Um, or you're gonna put 'em in a religious school. Um, so I could go on and on, um, because there are lots of options and we make these decisions every day. But I need you to know that we are under attack. That would be educators education and the most vulnerable of our population. And when you elect a president again, who put children in cages, the first term presidency. Think people forgot about that, but for children in cages, the first presidency, they're probably not gonna be thinking about children and what children need in the second presidency. Um, and when they appointed someone who was unqualified the first time, and they have appointed even a less qualified person the second time, um, and someone who's accused of child sexual abuse and whose case was paused. So that she could become the Secretary of Education. I mean, I don't know. I've never heard of cases being paused. I lived a long time, but I guess if you got enough money, you can get your case paused until you finish doing some shit you're not even qualified for, uh, and ruin a whole bunch of people's lives. And then you guess you go back and you probably get off anyway. Uh, I don't know that justice system. People I know who've been involved in the justice system typically go to jail. Uh, I've learned a whole lot with this new, new presidency, this latest presidency. Um, uh, learned a whole lot about the lack of justice system. Uh, but I guess once she finishes destroying the Department of Education in the lives of more children, someone who is accused of child sexual abuse. Um, then we can get back to the business of building it up and restoring it and then being blamed, uh, for its destruction by people who have very short memories. So what I need to know is to get a plan, get a plan in place. It's about to get even worse. We're only in what month? Six to seven. Um, so it's about to get worse of a four year, uh, of a four year bid. Yes. Um, and so you need to have a plan and to think about what it looks like and what you might be willing to sacrifice in order to make sure that your kids are well educated, um, and get the services, especially the many, many people. Um, who have, um, special needs and um, who have accommodations, um, to make sure that your child gets what they need in order to be successful, since we have an administration that does not care about that at all. All right, so tune in next week to need to know what Dr. Sing Burton, IM she, and of course, we want you to tune into. Tony and Chris on A Black Executive Perspective podcast where you can learn so much about so many different topics from so many different people. Um, it's really, really an excellent and award-winning podcast. Make sure you tune into them as well. I wish you a wonderful day. Stay focused and stay informed. A Black Executive Perspective.