On Friday Nevada Attorney General, Aaron Ford held a press conference calling out Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo for his support of President Donald Trump's executive order to start the elimination of the Department of Education.
The President still needs congressional approval before he can completely dissolve the agency.
Governor Lombardo praised the President's order, saying he also believes education should be controlled by the states.
AG Ford thinks it will be damaging for Nevada students and schools.
"The fact is Joe Lombardo just sold out Nevada's kids and their futures," the Attorney General said.
"Let's be clear, eliminating the Department of Education isn't about helping kids, it's about abandoning them," said Brian Wallace, Vice President of the Nevada State Education Association.
State leaders against the change say Nevada heavily relies on funding from the federal level.
"Over the last five years Nevada students and schools have been supported by the Department of Education, have been supported by the tune of nearly six billion dollars in critical, critical funding," said Angie Taylor, (D) Nevada State Senator.
The White House Communications Team has said that programs like Title One and Pell Grants are not going to end, they will just be administrated through other sources.
However, the Attorney General is not buying it.
"I know that Trump said that the Pell Grants won't be affected, well I don't believe him," he said.
Ford says this could impact the number of teachers, increase class sizes and special need programs.
"We're already dealing with some of the worst public school funding in the country," the Attorney General said. "Nevada ranks towards the last in per pupil spending."
We reached out to the Washoe County GOP for a comment on the remarks and the Chairman Bruce Parks said in-part, "Education should be under the purview of the states, not the federal government. Nevada is at the bottom of the heap education wise so I don’t see how abolishing the Department of Education will have much of an impact on us."
In the op-ed from Thursday, Governor Lombardo said, "The role of government should be to empower, not over-regulate, and this move will allow for a more localized, innovative, and accountable approach to education that truly serves the needs of our students, families, and educators."
AG Ford says he is looking into pursuing possible legal action into the President's executive order.
Ford says he plans on running against Governor Lombardo in the 2026 election.
