How Dismantling the Department of Education Would Put Our Students at Risk

No matter our race, background, or ZIP code, we believe our local public schools should inspire imagination, cultivate curiosity and critical thinking, and ensure our children can live fulfilling lives. Yet, anti-public education politicians are set on denying the resources all students deserve. So, we’re educating ourselves to protect our students and public education.

While President Donald Trump’s plans to dismantle the Department of Education (ED) via executive order requires Congressional action, educators and parents should be concerned. Protecting public education and the critical programs students rely on requires us to pressure Congress into 1) protecting the Department, or 2) preventing actions such as moving critical offices of the Department to other agencies, blocking Title I or IDEA funds to states, peeling off funds from these programs to support private school vouchers, or cutting/eliminating funding for federal grant programs.

The Department of Education, at its core, is a civil rights agency. As some education experts have put it, “[The Department of Education] serves as the only guardrail protecting schools and students in states that appear hellbent on destroying their public schools and every equity initiative that most Americans stand for and support.” Trump’s expected executive order attacks our ability to ensure all students have equal opportunity and access to education by ending diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility practices and programs.

The importance of protecting this department is two-fold:

1. Keeping critical offices like the Office for Civil Rights from being shipped to the Justice Department which will not protect the most vulnerable students, and
2. Preventing states and school districts from being forced to make up the difference from lost federal funding which increases taxes in local communities and states.

If politicians dismantle ED or slash public education funding: 

• 7.5 million students with disabilities and their families will lose the support they need at school and at home
• Moving enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act to the Department of Health and Human Services would endanger oversight, enforcement, and accountability.
• An attempt to block grant the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) would cut federal funding to states without protections and could eliminate IEPs that students and families depend on.
• Attempts to “voucherize” IDEA funds would result in funds being taken from public schools and given to private schools.
• 12 million students across the country will lose access to career and technical education programs necessary to prepare them for the jobs of the future
• Nearly 420,000 teacher and support staff jobs will be lost, meaning larger class sizes, with students will receive less one-on-one attention they deserve
• Fewer options and opportunities for 10 million students and their families who rely on Pell Grants and federal student loans for college, resulting in increasing college costs for working-class families
• 26 million students — especially those living in low-income homes — will lose vital education programs that help them reach their full potential

Even without Congress’ support for the executive order, the Trump administration will attempt to hollow out the agency through staff firings and buyouts. This would eviscerate the ability to enforce protections for students, especially for students with disabilities, and ensure services and rights are consistent across states. These protections should not be left to chance based on where you live.

Our students need more opportunities to succeed, and we need to strengthen, not dismantle, our public schools where 90 percent of this country’s students—and 95 percent of students with disabilities—learn.