By Amelia Jewett ‘27
On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order to begin the dismantling of the Department of Education. Many have wondered to what extent Trump’s actions will affect our children’s education, as he claims, “to return the power over education to families instead of bureaucracies”. His aims revolve around returning control of education to states and also ridding us of DEI initiatives that guide equity in our school systems. The debate is ongoing about whether the president’s actions will actually improve our school system or if it is truly an attack on education that will harm future generations.
The department, which oversees education policy and funding at a federal level, helps provide equity and funding for K-12 public school students who are disadvantaged or disabled, collects data and research on schools, and also offers grants or loans for higher education to low-income students. Although Trump has declared that the Department of Education is wasteful and corrupted by liberal ideology, he can’t dismantle it yet without the approval of Congress. The Trump administration in the meantime, has been making major cuts from the Office of Civil Rights and the Institute of Education Sciences.
“This is a dark day for the millions of American children who depend on federal funding for a quality education, including those in poor and rural communities with parents who voted for Trump,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said.
There has been major opposition from civilians and political figures, along with talk of legal action on a federal level. Low-income individuals and children with disabilities, who will be the most affected, are growing more and more concerned as the issue persists.
Without the ED, the federal government’s ability to collect data from schools is withdrawn, which would lead to school districts not being held accountable for racial and disability inequity in discipline, resources, and performance. Students’ privacy laws will also be at risk, which poses another vast array of issues.
In the end, minorities, low-income individuals, and children with disabilities are most harmed by Trump’s hopes for our future education. As the debate enlarges, it’s important for people to voice their opinions and support policies and ideas that will promote growth, equality, and success in our country’s schools.
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