On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed the executive order to scale down the Department of Education, a proposal currently awaiting congressional approval. The use of expressions like “dismantle” and “eliminate” in the media stirred strong reactions from the public without providing adequate context on the role of this department or the administration’s plan once the “dismantling” is done. On whether the President’s decision would disrupt the functions of the department, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that “It's not going to be shut down… but the great responsibility of educating our nation's students will return to the states.”
We might ask ourselves: How effective has the Department of Education been in improving America’s public education system, and what is President Trump's rationale behind his firm determination to carry out bureaucratic reforms? As a federal agency allocating funds and student loans while ensuring the protection of civil rights in public institutions, the Department of Education was founded in 1979 to assist state efforts. Despite the highest-ever $274 billion budget in 2023, the department's shortcomings have been exacerbated in recent years, as indicated by a Gallup Poll showing that only 36% of Americans were satisfied with the K -12 education system. Considering the large dissatisfaction with the status quo, simply pouring in more taxpayer money at the expense of lower and middle-class Americans is not a viable solution.
Furthermore, downsizing the agency does not mean eliminating financial aid and disability assistance programs, as the president explained that these critical functions would now fall under the domain of the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Justice, respectively. Contrary to common misconceptions, the agency does not play a role in establishing schools, hiring teachers, or developing standardized curricula. Cutting off miscellaneous spending will allow governmental resources to be used with greater efficiency—especially at a time when deficits are projected for the Pell Grant Program by 2026 due to the poor management of funds by the Department of Education.
To uphold equitable education and anti-corruption efforts, it is necessary to scale down the Department of Education, which has demonstrably failed to fulfill its mission over the past 45 years. However, bipartisan cooperation is critical in the process of educational reform, an important step that would determine the future of the coming generations. For this to happen, Republicans should abandon their rhetoric on how the agency has been “indoctrinating” American children with leftist ideas and rather emphasize the futility of this system to garner support from the broader public. On the other hand, the Democrats in the Senate should shift their focus away from boycotting every single piece of legislation proposed under the Trump administration to working towards reaching a compromise. Advocacy is important, yet it loses its effectiveness when one refuses to understand their opponent’s arguments.
Regardless of their political affiliation, the vast majority of Americans agree that the public education system is broken, widening the literacy gap and limiting economic opportunities for children from underserved communities. We have been using the same tool over and over again in an attempt to resolve these inequities but have observed minimal progress while continually burdening the public. A tool initially created to support states only increased the federal deficit when that same budget could have been allocated to the states for them to construct their infrastructures independent of bureaucratic control. This is an issue that should not be politicized, for it is something that will determine the future of our children and this country: both political parties must cooperate as a way of demonstrating their interests in improving the lives of American citizens over engaging in ideological conflicts that would tear this country apart even further.
This article was published by an anonymous author.
