'We're not prepared': States brace for Trump's plans to dismantle the Education Department

The White House is reportedly preparing an executive order to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education .

Conservatives have long discussed plans of what they’d like to see happen with the Education Department .

Yet, in the absence of specifics, the White House’s broader plan has been met with confusion.

State lawmakers and education officials make clear that few plans are underway for how states would deal with such a broad new framework.

“Absolutely not” said North Carolina Democratic state Rep. Julie von Haefen , a former PTA president in Wake County , when asked if legislators were preparing for how to react to changes in federal funding for public education or how to deal with a shifting civil rights violation enforcement framework.

Other blue-state legislators and current Education Department employees warn that declawing of the agency’s role in Title I and disability funding is a fundamental threat to the federal right to a free and appropriate public education.

Laws and funding for Title I , disability services exist because of the failures to treat people with respect, one department employee says.