If The Trump Administration Closes The Department Of Education, What Does This Mean?

With the second-time win of President Donald Trump, American citizens can expect the introduction of several changes to our political ecosystem. One of them is a proposal that he outlined in the Agenda47 documents, as well as Project 25. He plans to drain the Department of Education (DOE) of all funding, shutting it down and leaving the responsibility of education to each individual state. The approval of this proposal would threaten the quality of education and safety of K-12 students of color and underserved demographics. It’s undetermined whether the proposal will be approved. Simultaneously, it sheds light on the DOE and what K-12 students would be losing access to should it be shut down. But what exactly does the DOE do?

What Is The Department of Education?

The origins of the DOE date back to 1867. Former President Andrew Johnson signed the legislation that created the department. Its purpose was to create an area of the government in which information and statistics about the nation’s schools could be collected. Political and social changes in the 1950s led to the expansion of federal funding for education, sparking the development of programs to improve education for students from underserved communities. 

In October of 1979, former President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Department of Education Organization Act. The DOE is a cabinet-level department of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. The act was a representation of the federal government’s commitment to secure equal access to educational opportunities for every American. It also helped individual states carry out their responsibilities, in addition to encouraging the involvement of parents. This act  provides funding to those in need of support such as low-achieving or high-poverty K-12 schools.

What Does The Department Of Education Do?

The DOE has continued to put these goals into practice, implementing laws such as the No Child Left Behind Act, Race to the Top and Title One School Improvement Grants, along with overseeing each state’s public school system. It is responsible for educating millions of diverse children, in thousands of schools led by thousands of teachers. The DOE also enforces education laws meant to uphold and improve public school programs. Included within the DOE responsibilities is the distribution of funds and data collection of America’s schools. 

What Would Students Be Losing If The DOE Closed?

In addition to serving K-12 students, the DOE also provides direct student financial aid and manages student loans. It may be hard to believe that education is not a fundamental right under the Constitution. Still, it is protected by the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The amendment states that when a public school system is established, no child living in the state can be denied access to schooling equal to that of their peers. 

But what happens when that quality of education is impacted by a lack of funding, support and protection?