On March 20th, President Trump signed an executive order to begin the dismantling of the Department of Education. This action is unconstitutional and is fostering the removal of basic civil liberties from thousands of American students. The ED is responsible for implementing federal civil rights law, providing funding, and promoting research within our education system. Without the ED, the future of American education will become entirely unstable.
In section one of this executive order, President Trump states, “Unfortunately, the experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars — and the unaccountable bureaucracy those programs and dollars support — has plainly failed our children, our teachers, and our families.” This portrays the ED as if it is responsible for education policy and downplays the importance of the programs it is responsible for funding. When in fact, the power of curriculum and operations has always been left to state and local governments.
The claim that the programs the ED facilitates are failing the American public school system shows President Trump’s disregard for things such as the ESEA, (Elementary and Secondary Education Act), HEA, (Higher Education Act), and IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). These acts, among other things, have helped to standardize education within the United States and provide basic aid and accommodations to American students.
President Trump also said, “While the Department of Education does not educate anyone, it maintains a public relations office that includes over 80 staffers at a cost of more than $10 million per year.” According to the FiscalData website of the Federal Treasury, this $10 million is out of the nearly $6.8 trillion annual federal budget and the $71 billion dollar funding towards the ED.
In section two of the executive order, President Trump states, “…the requirement that any program or activity receiving Federal assistance terminate illegal discrimination obscured under the label ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’” or similar terms and programs promoting gender ideology.” This statement clearly foreshadows the intentions of the Trump administration to weaponize the Office for Civil Rights of the ED to undermine the measures imposed by state and local governments to prevent discrimination in our school system. This action being entirely contradictory to the purpose of the OCR to implement civil rights protections in schools.
While President Trump cannot fully eliminate the ED without congressional approval, the cuts he is making are setting a dangerous precedent for the American public education system. The majority of responsibilities of the ED would simply be shifted to other departments or agencies. Several proposals would have a dramatic impact on the school system, one being phasing out Title One of the ESEA over a decade. This provides funding to economically disadvantaged students and in school districts serving higher numbers of these students would then become entirely reliant on states to supplement said funding.
Overall, this executive order creates cause for concern about the future of our education system and the stability of funding for crucial infrastructure that facilitates equal opportunity and learning within the country.
