Randi Weingarten

But it all starts with what teachers do and what parents do in terms of kids' lives.

Yes.

I mean, look, I think that what we've learned from history is

is that even though it gets harder and harder, the longer there is democratic backsliding, I have great trust and belief in the American people that once they see what's going on and they understand what is happening, we can turn this around.

I really believe that.

But in terms of

Education, so, you know, education is the foundation stone of democracy.

The founding fathers actually, and yes, they were all fathers, and I don't, you know, I don't want to put them up on a pedestal, but they, almost 250 years ago, they understood that education was the bulwark against tyranny.

And every single state in America understood

believes in having an education system, and there were two twin, very foundational Supreme Court decisions that interpreted our Constitution to give a right to a free and fair education to every student in America, documented and undocumented.

Those two cases are Brown v. Board of Education and Plyler v. Doe.

And so American children have a right to public education.

We're both... Thank you.

We're both...

Donald Trump and Linda McGrann are both right and wrong is that American education, unlike in many European countries, are not controlled by the federal government.

They are controlled by a system of local school boards and state governments all across the country.

It's basically state governments that make curriculum decisions, that make financial decisions about schools, that set standards.

The federal role, starting with the civil rights laws and with, frankly, Lyndon Johnson and before that, the Brown case itself, which said the separate but equal is not equal.

It is inherently unequal.

The federal role is basically to make sure that kids who have been left behind are not left behind anymore.