Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building. June 21st, 2024. Photo Credit: Ajay_Suresh on Flickr
Under the Big Beautiful Bill, the Trump administration’s renewed call to dismantle the Department of Education is something that demands attention.
On Mar. 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that facilitates the shutdown of the Department of Education, saying, “We’re going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible.”
This act is not only an attack on the nation’s commitment to equal opportunity but also on the millions of students whose futures depend on it.
However, this idea is not new. In 1980, during his presidency, Ronald Reagan campaigned for the abolition of the Department of Education but was unable to do so due to a lack of congressional support.
Dismantling the Department of Education would complete “the unfinished business of Ronald Reagan…” said Jonathan Williams, president and chief economist of the American Legislative Exchange Council.
Williams believes that “The Department of Education has not directly educated a single child in its existence.” Instead, he said, “It has been used by bureaucrats to stymie much of the progress that has been made at the state level on education, freedom, and empowering parents.”
However, a closer look reveals that eliminating the agency responsible for enforcing civil rights, protecting students with disabilities and overseeing billions in federal funding would destabilize the entire education system.
It is not about shifting responsibilities to local facilities. It is about abandoning the department completely.
The Department of Education was created as a national priority. It ensures that a child in rural Mississippi has the same fundamental rights and protections as a child in suburban New Jersey.
It ensures that students with disabilities receive the services they are legally entitled to. It monitors school safety and provides resources to districts that would otherwise be left behind.
Removing it would not create freedom. It would create chaos.
Dismantling the Department of Education by shifting responsibilities to the states means that educational equity will depend entirely on geography and therefore on income and race. Schools will become unequal, and that is what the department was established to prevent.
Additionally, the Trump administration has created a list of degrees that are classed as “professional.”
This list excludes professions like nursing, accountants and, unsurprisingly, educators. Students who are pursuing these degrees may no longer receive the same amount of reimbursement for their studies and may spend years paying off loans for a degree with less pay.
This will affect students already in these programs and will deter incoming students from pursuing these essential, high-demand careers.
Today, U.S students rank 28 out of 37 organization for economic co-operation and development (OECD) member countries in math. Math and reading scores are at the lowest they have ever been in decades.
These issues within education deserve the attention of authorities and the nation. Yet, government officials are discussing how to dismantle the very department that needs fixing. More support needs to be given to education and future educators themselves.
Dismantling the Department of Education is a reckless, shortsighted move that places ideology over students, and we cannot afford to gamble with the future of America’s children.
