Eliminating the Department of Education will have disastrous impact

By Mel Wilson, NASW Senior Policy Adviser

The Trump administration has followed through with its not-so-secret threat to eliminate the Department of Education (DOE).

The first to reaching that objective was the recent confirmation of Linda McMahon – a well-known advocate for eliminating the DOE – to head that agency. Once on the job, McMahon immediately announced that nearly half (1315 people) of DOE’s current employees will be immediately laid off. The actual intent of the layoffs is to gut DOE to the point of the agency becoming dysfunctional.

These actions mimic Project 2025’s blueprint for eliminating DOE.  It should be noted the Trump Administration cannot eliminate DOE using an executive order –  Congress has to approve such actions. However, it seems obvious the administration does not view this rule as a major barrier.

The Trump Administration’s efforts to gut DOE to the point of total dysfunction is a deeply disturbing move that threatens the foundation of our nation’s educational system. This decision undermines the federal government’s role in ensuring equal access to quality education for all students, regardless of their socioeconomic background. By dismantling this crucial institution, we risk exacerbating educational disparities, weakening support for teachers, and diminishing the overall quality of education in the United States. It is imperative that we stand against this proposal to protect the future of our children and the integrity of our educational system.

The history of when and why DOE was established is important. The department was established by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, but the concept of a department of education has deep roots that go back to the post-Civil War reconstruction period.  When Carter made DOE a Cabinet level agency, its mission included enforcing civil rights laws in schools and distributing funds to disadvantaged students.

Later, in keeping with its mission, programs such as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB-2001) were enacted. NCLB emphasizes accountability and standardized testing to ensure all students, regardless of background, receive a quality education. Given that one of DOE’s primary missions since its inception is to improve socioeconomic and racial equity in public education, it is not surprising the Trump administration has zealously moved forward with plans to destroy the agency.

Eliminating DOE will have a significant impact on clients served by teachers and social workers

As social workers, it is important we recognize and understand the intersection between equitable public education and the early childhood bio-psychosocial stability of vulnerable and marginalized American youth. We also have to recognize that Trump’s plan to eliminate DOE will have a significant long-term impact on the individuals, families, and children that both teachers and social workers serve.

In particular, dismantling DOE – or even shrinking it beyond recognition – will have significant impacts on school aged children and post-secondary education for young adults. Much of this impact will be driven by reduced funding for schools. At present, DOE provides essential funding to K-12 schools – especially those in under-resourced states. In truth, because each state controls and administers nearly every aspect of public education, money that currently goes from DOE to the states will now likely be redirected for other non-education purposes in a post-DOE world. Without this support, schools will struggle to maintain programs, hire qualified teachers, and provide necessary resources.

Other endangered programs now in place at DOE include mandated special education that schools provide resources for children with disabilities and higher education financial support for low-and moderate income students, such as federal student aid programs, Pell Grants, and student loans. 

The department plays a role in ensuring educational equity. Without it, disparities between wealthy and low-income districts could widen, exacerbating educational inequality and the potential for racial resegregation. Before Trump took office, DOE was conscientious about enforcing civil rights laws in education. DOE’s elimination will lead to a rollback of protections against discrimination, potentially increasing segregation in schools.

The apparent plan to discontinue highly successful programs such as the Pell grants will have long-lasting effects on the quality of pre-K, secondary, and post-secondary education for many low and middle-income young people. Trump administration officials suggest that once DOE no longer exists these endangered programs will still be available because they will be absorbed by “other” federal departments. But that possibility is at best wishful thinking or, better put, outright cynicism.

Youth in the justice system would lose educational support

Eliminating the Department of Education (DOE) would also have significant repercussions for justice involved youth and adults. Here are some key impacts. We should be reminded that states are mandated to provide adjudicated youth with education support. In so doing,  the federal government takes an interagency approach to meeting that mandate.

Therefore, DOE collaborates with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to identify and provide education programs for these justice-involved young people. These programs include special education services, vocational training, and adult education. If DOE dramatically shrinks or is eliminated altogether, programs funded by DOE will disappear. This would defeat the strategy of offering reentry and reintegration services that seek to help youth and adults transition back to their communities and families.

A particular focus should be be placed on Special Education Services for adjudicated youth. Given that many justice-involved youth have special educational needs, DOE has been able to ensure that these needs are met through Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and other supports. Eliminating the DOE could result in a lack of oversight and resources for these essential services, negatively impacting the educational outcomes of justice-involved youth with disabilities.

With DOE, quality of education will differ greatly from state to state

Before the establishment of the U.S. Department of Education in 1979, public education funding varied significantly from state to state. The disparities were largely due to differences in state and local funding mechanisms, which often resulted in unequal resources for schools. For instance, many states rely heavily on local property taxes to fund public schools. By definition, wealthier states with higher property values could generate more revenue than poorer states – leading to wide disparities in available funds for education on a state-by-state basis.

This pre-DOE school funding problem was exacerbated by the choices that individual states made in their formulas for allocating funds to their school districts. Some states provided more equitable funding, while others did not adequately address the needs of low-income families or schools in Black and Brown neighborhood or rural districts. This was a major problem in the past and presently in America’s Southern States. The aftermath of dismantling of DOE will be a return to significant differences in educational quality and opportunities for students across the country. Ironically, the creation of DOE was aimed at addressing some of these inequities by providing more consistent federal oversight and funding.

Conclusion: Trump Administration action is an attack on nation’s public education system

The Trump administration’s decision to first gut and later eliminate DOE  is an attack on a long-standing American commitment to a national public education system that is equitable, regardless of socioeconomic status, race or ethnicity. With the administration’s well-known antagonism to all things related to equity, it seems clear that this was a part of its motivation to dismantle the agency. Beyond that, it is equally clear that President Trump and Secretary McMahon ultimately envision a privatized education system without federal oversight – but with federal dollars to support it.  In a word, that is a horrible plan that will invariably lead to widespread education disparities on a national basis.

The road to privatization of the current public education system also came directly from Project 2025’s roadmap . According to that roadmap, some key aspects of what this privatized system would include School Vouchers and Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Families would receive government payments or ESAs to use for private school tuition, online courses, or other educational expenses.

There would be a significant increase in the number of charter schools, which operate independently of the traditional public school system and are often run like profit driven businesses.

Public schools would see a decrease in funding as resources are diverted to private and charter schools. Education policy and funding would be managed at the state and local levels, reducing federal involvement and allowing for more localized decision-making. And the system would allow private schools, including faith-based institutions, career schools, and apprenticeship programs, to use government funded education vouchers. Proponents of this approach claim Private School Choice increases school educational options.

However, this approach raises serious concerns about equity and access to quality education for all students, particularly those in marginalized communities. An added dilemma is that the Trump administration – without hesitation – moved to do a massive Reduction in Force (RIF) . As a result, the reality is that even if the federal courts rule that the administration’s actions are unlawful, the damage is already done. With half of its workforce gone, from the administration’s perspective, DOE will have been effectively disrupted and will soon become non-functional.

It is now up to governmental and non-governmental stakeholders – which definitely includes social workers – to make every effort to block further erosion a public education system that has served America’s children for over a century.

Take Action

Urge your Members of Congress to Protect their Constituents. A flurry of Executive Orders from the Trump Administration have directly affected the clients that social workers serve. #NASW is pushing back on these harmful orders, and we ask you to join us by contacting your Members of Congress! Ask them to do their job and protect their constituents. Here’s how: https://buff.ly/2Ew9dv4