McMahon recounts story of reassuring parent of special needs that funding will continue as department shrinks

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Linda McMahon questions the federal government in education after country's longest shutdown

Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon argues the 43-day government shutdown proved schools don't need federal oversight to function properly.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Tuesday recounted a story when she reassured a parent of a child with special needs that the funding would continue.

"Let's get the money to the kids," McMahon said in front of a crowd at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

McMahon was the keynote speaker at the American Principles Project Gala, where she was honored with the American Principles Project’s Charlie Kirk Defender of the Family award and was joined by her successor in leading the Small Business Administration, former Sen. Kelly Loeffler.

During a question and answer session at the gala, McMahon stressed her vision to return education to the states, "making it the purview of parents, teachers, school principals, local school superintendents and governors."

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on Monday reassured a parent of a child with special needs that the funding would continue. ( Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images)

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"Because President Trump believes, as do I, that the best education is that that's closest to the child," McMahon said.

McMahon shared an exchange she had with a concerned parent about the impact that dismantling the Department of Education would have on students with special needs.

The parent was worried that the funding would stop, losing access to the necessities provided for the special needs student population, McMahon recalled.

Linda McMahon shared an exchange she had with a concerned parent about the impact that dismantling the Department of Education would have on students with special needs. (Getty)

"I looked at that mother and I said, ‘Well, let me ask you something.’ I said, 'Who's better able to determine the needs of your child? You, who work with your child every day, you take your child to school, you're talking with your teachers, you know what your child needs. Are you not the best advocate for that child?'" McMahon asked.

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McMahon said she explained to the mother that the funding would continue.

"Surely you are. And let me say to you, the funding will continue to flow. If the Department of Education moves different programs to different agencies, that will not shut down the funding," McMahon said. "The funding comes from Congress. And the Department of Education is merely a pass-through for that funding, you know, to get to where it needs to go. And now we'll have fewer regulations, fewer people involved, and it'll be better all around."

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Last month, McMahon said that the government shutdown proved federal involvement isn’t essential for schools to operate after President Donald Trump signed legislation ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history. 

Last month, McMahon said that the government shutdown proved federal involvement isn’t essential for schools to operate after President Trump signed legislation ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history. (J. David Ake/Getty Images)

McMahon explained that it's often misunderstood that the Department of Education controls curriculum. 

"We don't. We don't hire teachers, we don't buy books, we don't do any of that. We are a pass through for federal funding to make sure it gets to states. There are competitive grants that the Department of Education works to make sure that that funding that comes from Congress – there is competitive bidding for that," she said.

"But our thought is that if more of that funding were to come in block grants to states who know best how to spend their money with some guardrails… and we'll get the regulatory component out of the way, and that money would then go, you know, without the kind of strings that's normally attached."

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