The End is Here

It's not just the Department of Education

Photo by Kevin Kandlbinder on Unsplash

It happened.

Donald Trump today signed a much-anticipated executive order to dismantle the federal Department of Education.

President Trump signed an executive order that he said would “begin eliminating the federal Department of Education once and for all,” although the agency cannot be closed without the approval of Congress. Some critical functions, including those related to student loans and special education funding, are expected to continue to be run out of the reduced agency.

Let’s be real.

It doesn’t matter if it “requires” Congress to approve.

Trump will do what he wants how he wants. He’s defying the orders of judges. He’s defunding agencies. And while he claims some education department functions will be moved to other agencies, he’s also presiding over an Administration investigating colleges for civil rights violations because they aren’t providing enough advantages to white people.

While Trump says he’s just going to give the money to the states, that means enforcement of key protections ensured by the Education Department will be uneven- in some cases, there may be effectively no protection.

In a statement on the order, Education Law Center says:

The executive order reveals utter disregard for the Department’s core functions, which are to provide funding for vulnerable student populations across the country, support states’ and school districts’ efforts to provide educational access and opportunity for students, and ensure that states and districts comply with key federal laws including those that protect civil rights.

At risk are 504 plans and protections provided under IDEA. No, those laws aren’t being repealed - but without a department with specialists solely focused on them, the protections they afford may no longer exist.

Ed Department SmackDown Threatens Schools Everywhere

As Save Our Schools Arizona notes:

Why does it matter? Make no mistake — this is not just an attack on “bureaucracy,” and it’s not in any way going to make anything more efficient. Let’s call this what it is: a direct assault on millions of students, teachers, and families. Trump’s actions have already triggered mass layoffs, with thousands of Dept. of Ed employees losing their jobs overnight. Many of those laid off are lawyers who work to oversee and protect the civil rights of America’s students. Others run programs to fund school meals, after-school tutoring, and major programs like IDEA for students with disabilities and Title I for low-income students.

Speaking of school meals, while the federal school nutrition program is run by the USDA, that program is also facing cuts:

Musk's War on Farmers and Hungry Kids

The Guardian reports:

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has slashed two programs that provided more than $1bn for schools and food banks to purchase food from local farms and ranchers.

A chart of awards for the two local food programs funded by the USDA tells the story of how much states stand to lose as a result of the cuts.

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A Peter Greene piece notes that it’s not just the Dept. of Ed that is ending, but public schooling in general.

From there Pondiscio moves on to rewards and risks. We disagree on the rewards, but I appreciater his clear-eyed view of the risks.

If, as seems inevitable, more Americans adopt a “choose your own adventure” style of educating their children, it could exacerbate the gaps between educational haves and have-nots and lead to an even further degradation of social cohesion.

Absolutely. No "could" about it. Because we aren't talking about a school choice movement, but a taxpayer-funded, free market school choice system, a distinction that has gone unquestioned even though neither taxpayer funding nor the free market are needed to implement school choice. But basing school choice on an educational marketplace, we are absolutely guaranteed gaps between tiers based on financial resources (see also: every market good in the country, from cars to groceries).

In short: This will be bad. All of it. The end of the Department of Education. The end of public school. The advent of “free market, choose your own adventure” education.

The end result: an exacerbation of income-based inequality. Or, the dream scenario of Project 2025.

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