Abolishing the Department of Education

The image is representative of how our government doesn’t allocate enough funding for education. The photo relates to the article because it addresses the topic of government funding being cut for education. Photo courtesy of Memeing Wiki. 

In March of 2025, the Trump administration filed an executive order to functionally abolish the United States Department of Education. Although a department of this significance cannot be entirely disbanded without a majority vote from Congress, the Trump administration exploited legal loopholes such as laying off the majority of the department's workforce over the course of this past year. 

The Department of Education manages student financial aid and controls school programs across the country This means that in the event the department is disbanded, oversight of programs like IEP (Individualized Education Program) and 504 plans would fall to the DOJ (Department of Justice) and HHS (Department of Health and Human Services), likely weakening the implementation of these policies. The Trump Administration has attempted to justify the removal of the Department of Education by claiming that the Department has worsened the education system by upholding standards like DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion.) 

Abolishing the Department of Education primarily impacts high school students, since financial aid and individualized education programs will become less accessible. This is why it’s important to hear what students have to say on the matter.

¨ I think that taking away financial aid would be bad because that would mean a lot of people that don't have enough money to pay for higher education won't be able to access it at all and that will expand the class divide.¨ Said junior Zoe Kanjorski

¨I believe that the push for the removal of the Department of Education is intended to further push the U.S into a surveillance state. And I say this because pushback on educational standards allows for the majority of the population relying on public education to be susceptible to manipulation,” said junior Eric Burke. The sentiment shared by these students demonstrates how the Trump administration's goal of allowing school funding and programs to be determined by the states can contribute to the loss of critical thinking skills for the majority of the population.

¨Lowering the standard for education allows for later bills in similarity to this to pass because under educated people aren't able to think critically for themselves and how the policies passed by politicians they support may affect them and their community.¨

Burke’s statement regarding an uneducated population being less aware of harmful policies reveals how lowering the standards for education can contribute to the majority of the population being ignorant to significant governmental changes. 

Although students are the most impacted by changes to the education system, teachers have a broader understanding of just how influential an individual's education is on the trajectory of their life, since they have witnessed the different layers of the education system firsthand.

“While we are here in Washington state with a fairly strong education department, that's not necessarily true for states across the country. In terms of educational outcomes for students in different states this change would have real impacts on issues like equity, equality and create real differences in success, livelihood and potentially the amount of money people are able to make over the course of their lifetime,” US history teacher Heather Miller said.

The insight Miller shared regarding the long term impacts of cutting student financial aid vindicates the concerns held by underprivileged students that want to access higher education. 

While the Trump administration has attempted to justify its destructive policy to the public with claims that the DEI initiatives implemented within the Department of Education are harmful to the fairness of higher education; It’s important to recognize that abolishing the Department of Education entails changes that make DEI initiatives appear microscopic by comparison. In the event that Congress votes to abolish the Department, special education programs across the country would fall under the jurisdiction of individual states. This means that state governments would have control over these programs and could potentially decide to cut vital programs like IEP (Individual Education Plans) and 504 plans. Given the context that over nine states throughout the U.S have challenged section 504 (a list of legal protections guaranteed to people with disabilities), the likelihood of students with disabilities in these states losing access to these programs is high if the Department of Education is abolished. 

Although the plans that the government has for the next generation's education may raise concerns, it is important to remember that there are measures that can be taken to prevent these policies from being signed into law.

“Because [that act of Congress] hasn't passed yet, I think it wouldn’t hurt to appeal to your representatives and senators. People should be sharing their opinions, that is a key part of our democracy. And their opinions should be taken into account by constituents, senators and representatives,” Miller said.

The Trump administration’s plan to dismantle the Department of Education will not only have long term impacts on future generations, but it will also worsen the career trajectory of students that can't afford college tuition. This is why it’s so important to hold our representatives accountable because their votes are the most significant right now.

The image is a political cartoon sharing sentiment similar to the first image but with a stronger focus on how the government is allowing funds to be cut from education. This sentiment relates to the article because it contains a segment that discusses pressuring representatives into taking action. Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania Capital Star.