Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive executive order to officially dismantle the United States Department of Education (DOE). A government-based organization, the DOE has been on a mission to provide abundant education to all Americans for nearly 200 years. Though not officially started until much later, its roots were planted in 1867, when President Andrew Johnson signed a bill that forwarded the creation of the first national education firm.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union’s rapid movement in space led the then-small office of education to expand, an idea proposed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson felt that an increase in scientific research would lead the United States to surpass the Soviet Union’s efforts to reach the moon. Johnson’s presidency also strove to improve education for minorities, including impoverished and disabled citizens.
The movement incorporated gender and racial issues as well. The need for better learning conditions led to the consolidation of a number of different educational offices. Finally, in May 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed a law that created the official United States Department of Education, an organization that has remained for nearly 50 years. However, our current president’s recent actions have displayed clear attempts to rip this affiliation apart.
The DOE’s mission is to promote that all students have equal access to education regardless of background, including impoverished or disadvantaged students. It provides regulated resources and financial support to families and schools in need. The funding is put towards hiring additional teachers for children with learning disabilities and providing after-school programs for parents that work long hours and can’t afford their own childcare. Defunding these types of programming poses a major issue for our country, as it will severely disadvantage many students that rely on the benefits they provide. The devastating impact of these cuts is yet to be fully understood, but it’s clear that it will impact many.
“I think that cutting important educational programs for students in need is heartbreaking,” said freshman Grace Stone.
Another major focus for the DOE is the commitment to diversity and inclusion to assure equal education for everyone. According to DOE data for the New York City school system, the largest school district in the United States, in 2023 about 325,000 students were English Language Learners, 23 percent were students of disabilities, and 85 percent were economically disadvantaged. This data shows the diverse representation of American students and how defunding programs at the federal level will put minorities and the economically disadvantaged students most at risk for a successful education. People in these situations may not have the same access to additional funds, technology, or programming to make sure that their children are cared for in the way that they need.
“Everyone should be entitled to the same opportunities in school. Trump’s decision to dismantle the Department of Education will harm many students and families of students,” said junior Russell Schwartz.
However, dismantling the Department of Education may be seen as a positive to some. It will remove federal regulations from schools, giving states or even specific districts the power to set their own laws based on their students’ needs. These improved rules could be more flexible to change whenever needed than federal rules.
Despite this, financial aid, loans given for college, are also managed by the DOE and are now at risk because of the cuts. The Department of Education manages well over one trillion dollars in loans provided by the federal government. Eliminating such loans will affect millions of students nationally, making higher education unaffordable for countless students.
“The dismantling of the DOE is going to have significant implications on next year’s college admissions cycle. It will definitely hurt many students that were planning on applying for financial aid to afford college,” said junior Brad Grundfast.
Overall, the elimination of resources will impact the everyday lives of students across the country. It will wipe away many programs meant to provide support for disadvantaged kids and minorities. It will also take away the opportunity to gain financial support for numerous families. In fact, it may completely prevent certain students from being able to receive a college education. The change to localized funding could result in some benefits, but suddenly undoing all of the work done by the DOE over the last 45 years will undoubtedly leave a greatly negative impact on the next generation of Americans.