Education
Trump Has Ordered the Dismantling of the US Education Department. Here’s What That Means
Video: Joining “Chicago Tonight” are Paul Vallas, former Chicago Public Schools CEO; Peter Cunningham, former assistant secretary of education; and Leodis Scott, a professor of education at DePaul University. (Produced by Shelby Hawkins)
President Donald Trump’s order calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Education Department has complex implications.
The Republican president has argued the federal office hasn’t improved student outcomes and is unnecessary in a country where states and local districts primarily control education from funding to hiring and curriculum.
For decades, right-wing activists have called for eliminating the agency, which was created by Congress in 1979. As Trump remakes the federal government, he has assailed the department as wasteful and responsible for spreading “woke” ideas such as programs to support diversity, equity and inclusion and protections for transgender students.
The department has been largely responsible for oversight, enforcing discrimination laws and distributing aid money for schools with low-income students and students with disabilities. Federal funding makes up a relatively small portion of public school budgets, roughly 14%.
“This is all political,” said Paul Vallas, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools. “Presidents advance their agenda through the U.S. Department of Education.”
What Trump’s Order Means for American Children and Teachers
In the short term, students, teachers and parents likely won’t see much impact. Long term, it’s harder to predict.
It depends how Education Secretary Linda McMahon distributes the mandated functions of the department to other parts of government, including the states.
The biggest question is how the states will distribute the federal money the department sends to help educate students who are poor, disabled or still learning English and need extra support. School systems with weak property tax bases, including those in rural areas, depend on that money to pay teachers, pay for buses and buy classroom technology.
States such as Mississippi and Alaska depend on this money to fund more than 20% of school districts’ costs. Advocates worry that without federal oversight, state leaders could spend the money on anything they want, including vouchers to attend private school.
The Illinois Federation of Teachers panned the executive order, calling Trump’s path to eliminating the Department of Education “illegal.”
In a statement, the federation wrote: “Dismantling the Department of Education will destabilize working families and reward the rich and powerful at the expense of our students. The stakes could not be higher: A free, high-quality education for every student is not just a pathway to a livable future, it is the very foundation of our nation.”
What About Student Loans? Should College Hopefuls Still Fill Out the FAFSA?
Cuts the Trump administration has already made to the Education Department have eliminated hundreds of staff members and contracts dedicated to maintaining the Free Application for Student Aid, or FAFSA, website and helping users navigate the complicated form. But McMahon has said the federal programs will be maintained.
On Friday, Trump said the Small Business Administration would take over the $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio. Conservatives, including former Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, have talked about setting up a quasi-private bank to administer loans.
“These departments cannot handle the capacity,” said Leodis Scott, an education professor at DePaul University. “In fact, the SBA is going to be cut down by 40%, so they really won’t have the capacity to handle the student loans.”
Users should expect some hiccups. The StudentAid.gov website was down for several hours last week as the remaining department staff tried to troubleshoot an outage.
Will Public Schools Still Feed Children Meals?
School meal programs are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, so they are not affected by Trump’s move to eliminate the Education Department. However, the USDA has cut a $1 billion coronavirus pandemic-era measure that helped schools and food banks to buy local farm-fresh food.
How Soon Could the Education Department Go Away?
The Trump administration is already facing legal challenges in its attempt to dismantle the agency.
A coalition that includes the NAACP and the National Education Association alleges the president’s actions constitute a “de facto dismantling of the Department by executive fiat.” In a press release they explain: “The lawsuit alleges that actions to dismantle the Department exceed the constitutional authority of the executive branch and violate the federal Administrative Procedure Act. It asks the court to immediately halt the government’s attempt to dismantle the Department.”
And eliminating the department entirely would require an act of Congress. Republicans in Congress are planning legislation to eliminate the agency, but they face heavy opposition from Democrats.
In the meantime, Trump still has plans for the department. Even as he ordered its closure, Trump has tasked the department with rooting out and punishing schools that have diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Chicago and Deerfield Public Schools and the Illinois State Board of Education are under federal investigations following claims a student was forced to change in front of a transgender classmate — which Deerfield officials emphatically say is not the case.
As for what the elimination of the agency could mean for educational outcomes, former Assistant Education Secretary Peter Cunningham thinks the dissolution will do little to improve already lagging assessment scores.
“If you really want to focus on kids learning to read, then support these programs,” Cunningham said. “Make it a matter of national interest and let people know that we’re going to be serious about driving education, about making a difference and helping kids learn.”
