Does the Department of Education Need to be Eliminated?

President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the Department of Education.  The order directs the department to reduce its size and transfer many of its responsibilities to states and other federal agencies. Programs like student loans, Pell Grants, and funding for students with disabilities should continue, but their administration might be shifted to other agencies over time. The move has sparked concerns about potential disruptions in federal education funding and services, especially for low-income and special-needs students. 

In addition, President Trump has withheld funding for numerous federal agencies, as well as personnel cuts that Impact the operational effectiveness of those agencies.  His initiatives to eliminate DEI have resulted in threats to various educational institutions that have been deemed in violation of his desire.  His major targets have been high profile schools like Columbia.  However, a number of regional universities are under investigation for discrimination tied to DEI programs.

While purportedly looking for a better investment, the Trump administration has lost sight of the fact that education isn’t about return on the dollar in test score numbers, but it is about children.  Cuts to food and support programs should consider what happens when a child is hungry.  The impact of housing support on living arrangements also impacts a student’s learning motivation.  Our system of education is broken!  Many children are in fact “left behind”.  Education is good for the affluent, fair for the middle class, and substandard for people struggling to make ends meet.  That is why 54% of Americans function a less than a 6^th grade level.  With an overall literacy rate of 79%, the United States ranks 36^th.  Most developed nations have literacy rates of 96%  (National Literacy Institute, 2024-2025 Literacy Statistics).

Many of our competing countries, e.g., Finland, Canada, Japan, support early education with universal health and food support programs as well as support for counselors, mental health, basic human needs. Unfortunately, the United States is focused on outcomes through money spent of developing standardized tests.  We often spend money to determine outcomes without providing adequate support for actual education.  We don’t invest in teachers.  Salaries are poor.  Requirements for licensure are often costly and frequently not reimbursed by the school districts.  Attracting college students to these poor paying teaching jobs has become increasingly difficult.   Differences in taxing districts impact whether a school district invests in education or barely gets by.  Wealthy districts can excel.  Poor districts barely make their budget guidelines.

Too often, the United States has turned what should be an investment in humankind into a business venture.  Spending more money doesn’t guarantee a better product.  Our founding fathers stressed the need for a literate populace if their model democracy was going to survive.  America has failed to maintain the gains in education achieved over the 20th century.  The amount of money spent on buildings, extra-curricular activities and mandated curriculums has changed the focus from basic skills and understanding of our system of government to looking good on paper.

Downsizing with the intent to eliminate the Department of Education is as unfounded as most other downsizing initiatives underway under the Trump administration.  There is no doubt that there is waste in our federal bureaucracies.  This waste should be eliminated.  However, the chainsaw approach offered by the Trump administration can do only what a chain saw does.  The cuts are crude and dangerous.  What is needed is a careful review of programs by independent experts.  The recommendation then needs to be reviewed by Congress and their determination passed on to the Executive Branch. 

The United States is not a business being run for profit.  Although, in recent years it often looks like our elected representatives are there only to make money for themselves.  The United States government is a service funded by the taxpayer for all American citizens.