Friday, January 17, 2025
The U.S. Department of Education was established as a cabinet-level agency in October 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, and officially began operations in May 1980. For nearly 45 years, the department has soldiered past many attempts to break it apart, or disband it altogether, most notably by conservative politicians who believe that the federal agency oversteps states’ rights.
While calls to do away with the agency have persisted through the early 21st century, the effort has never been successful, and here’s why: Many educators, parents, advocacy groups and politicians on both sides of the aisle support a federal role in education to ensure equity and civil rights enforcement.
I’m not an educator or a politician, but I can tell you this: Education, and at the very least a high school diploma, is imperative to one’s success in life. What’s even more important is that the Department of Education has played a vital role in making access to education possible for countless people, ensuring that opportunities for learning and growth are within reach for all.
The DOE oversees and coordinates national education policies, but it also works closely with state and local governments to assess needs on a state-by-state basis.
There are many avenues on which I could diverge to highlight some of the department’s key components, but I’ll focus on just a few things, the first being Title I — the largest federal education program, which is aimed at improving the academic achievement of disadvantaged students. It provides financial assistance to schools and districts with high percentages of children from low-income families.
Over the years, Title I has garnered bipartisan support, because both Democrats and Republicans recognize the need to address education inequities. Debates have arisen over funding distribution and outcome measurement, but Title I remains a central component of federal education policy because of its critical role in supporting vulnerable students.
The DOE also oversaw the implementation of the landmark Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. In simplest terms, the act guarantees free, appropriate public education for students with disabilities, and also provides them with specific protections and resources, like individualized education plans, mandating that schools develop tailored plans for these students, outlining their unique needs and goals and the services required to meet those goals.
The act stretches beyond primary and secondary education, also requiring schools to help students transition from high school to postsecondary education, employment or independent living — ensuring that no one’s future is negatively impacted by a learning or physical disability.
I’m detailing all of this because I, like many others, find it extremely alarming that President-elect Donald Trump has once again vowed to shut down the Department of Education.
He first proposed to do so during his 2016 presidential campaign, but even his own secretary of education during his first term, Betsy DeVos, didn’t see that idea through.
The DOE has faced its share of woes over the course of seven presidencies, and yet it steadfastly continues its work. Shutting it down isn’t just a matter of politics — it’s a decision that would have profound consequences for students across the nation.
If Trump succeeds in dismantling the department in his second term, experts in the field have indicated that its programs could survive or operate under other federal or state agencies, but the transition would likely cause massive disruptions in services, negatively impacting students.
Ninety percent of all K-12 students in the U.S. are publicly educated, due to education’s accessibility and widespread availability, and who would we be, as a nation, if we took that accessibility away?
I’ve said this many times, and I’ll say it again: If you voted for Trump because you believe in his vision for America, that’s fine, and it’s your right as an American.
Putting that aside, however, I now ask you to think about students — perhaps even your children — and what the shutdown of a massively important department could mean.
The Department of Education exists to ensure that education is not a privilege for few, but rather a right for everyone, and to close it down would risk reversing decades of progress. Rather than dismantle it, we should be focused on strengthening it for generations to come, prioritizing children, their futures, and the promise of opportunity for all.
Jordan Vallone is a senior editor of the Herald Community Newspapers. Comments? Jvallone@liherald.com.
