Trump's Raging War Against Quality Education for Everyone

 

“Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.” Those are the opening words in the Education Chapter of Project 2025. In other words, there is no reason for anyone to be surprised that Donald Trump signed a proclamation shutting down the Department of Education and returning control to the states today.

Trump deceitfully distanced himself from Project 2025 after public discussion about it led to an uproar, but for anyone who was paying attention, and we were here, it was clear that the project was an effort to prepare for the coming Trump administration if it materialized.

Dismantling the Department of Education has been a longtime priority for Republicans. Trump simply adopted it, melding it with two of the key prongs of his current onslaught against government: it is wasteful, and it perpetuates liberal ideology.

The problem is, Congress established the Department of Education in 1979, and they, not the president, hold sway over its continued existence. It remains to be seen just how much force Trump’s direction to Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure (of) the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely” will carry.

Trump called his executive order the “first step” to dismantling the department. McMahon has already cut the department’s workforce in half. And there has been $900 million in cuts after DOGE found there was “no need for much of its work.” It’s hard to view this as anything other than antagonism toward the notion of equality, education that is for all kids no matter who they are or where they come from.

In Trump’s America, quality education will be the prerogative of people who are wealthy, people who are white, people who are neurotypical. If your kid needs service for English as a second language or special education, you’re going to be out of luck if the administration gets its way. The Department of Education is responsible for the distribution of federal funding for schools, including two major programs: Title I, which provides funding for low-income students, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, designed to help students with disabilities.

In February 2023, Alabama Rep. Barry Moore introduced H.R. 938, a bill “To abolish the Department of Education and to provide funding directly to States for elementary and secondary education, and for other purposes.” Sixty Republicans joined Democrats in putting a stop to it. It wasn’t a one-off. Congressional Republicans have continued to offer similar bills, but without success. Hence Trump’s decision to attempt to kill off the department with a questionable executive order.

This is actually the second incarnation of the Department of Education, signed into law when Jimmy Carter was president. Adam Laats, a history professor at Binghamton University, explained to history.com, “You can’t overestimate how inflammatory it was for former Confederate leaders to have a federal Department of Education because they equated ‘federal’ with Reconstruction.” God forbid we should educate people. Especially BIPOC and other marginalized groups. They might learn to think for themselves instead of believing what people in power tell them.

That’s where we find ourselves tonight. “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” ― George Orwell

The department’s website, which as of tonight is still online, clarifies the mission:

"The U.S. Department of Education is the agency of the federal government that establishes policy for, administers and coordinates most federal assistance to education. It assists the president in executing his education policies for the nation and in implementing laws enacted by Congress. The Department's mission is to serve America's students-to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access."

That’s what we are losing. The states will take over education. Some will do a good job. Others not so much. And in some places, education will be privatized, with all the issues that implies. One thing that’s for certain, equal access to education will be a thing of the past, much of the progress of the last six decades wiped out.

In July of 2024, before it was clear that Kamala Harris would become the Democratic nominee, it was already clear that despite his denials, Trump was up to his eyeballs in Project 2025. I wrote about what that means. Today, it has all come true. It’s devastating. And it was predictable. Here’s an excerpt from that piece:

"Public education is important. Well-educated citizens are more employable and prepared to compete in the 21st Century economy. Education reduces crime. It improves public health and health equity. Education produces a more informed population, people able to think for themselves and their communities. As the saying goes, if you’re burning books because they contain some ideas you don’t like, you’re not afraid of books or courses—you’re afraid of ideas. That perfectly encapsulates the Project 2025 approach to education. The most important takeaway from the education chapter of Project 2025 is that the plan is to shut down the U.S. Department of Education. Donald Trump has been saying at recent rallies that it should be disbanded to 'move everything back to the states where it belongs.'"

While Trump lacks the ability to formally close the Department of Education, he can shrink it to the point of irrelevance and ask Congress to deliver the coup de grace. The 44 pages in the Education Chapter of Project 2025 contain precisely that suggestion. Dismantle the department into a hollow shell that does nothing more than gather statistics.

My conclusion tonight is the same as it was when I first wrote about Project 2025 and Trump’s plan for public education:

"Trump and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 authors are afraid of an open marketplace of ideas where kids learn to think for themselves. Kids can learn about—and learn from—the history of slavery in this country. The idea that it must be suppressed because it might make white kids feel bad is ridiculous. The more we know of our history, events like the internment of Japanese Americans in camps during World War II, or the treatment of Irish, Italian, Jewish, and other immigrants as they came to country, the better we can become. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. That seems to be the plan here."

In the past, Congress has hesitated to choke off the Department of Education precisely because the public understands the good work it does on behalf of America’s children. My mom taught preschoolers from low income, predominately single-parent homes, in a school created by President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society program.

Great Society Programs were created to eradicate poverty and racial injustice with social welfare initiatives, including pre-k education. Her kids used to come back and visit her after they graduated from high school and college, and for my mom, their success was her greatest reward. Programs like hers and so many others mean more kids have access to education and the opportunity to succeed. That’s what Donald Trump is trying to kill off. Better lives, for real people.

This is a good moment to make sure your elected representatives understand your views. And thanks for being here at Civil Discourse. Your support and paid subscriptions make the newsletter possible.

We’re in this together,

Joyce Vance