Donald Trump wants to shut down the US Department of Education, saying at recent rallies that it should be disbanded to “move everything back to the states where it belongs”.
“This playbook actually goes into detail that we’ve never seen before,” said Weadé James, senior director for K-12 policy at the Center for American Progress. It would have profound implications on civil rights, school funding and students’ progress – not to mention on the fate of public schools, she said.“The striking part about all of this, too, is the Department of Education is actually the smallest of any cabinet-level agency.
As it stands now, schools receive federal grants targeted toward specific purposes, like aiding low-income students or students with disabilities. States implement these programs, often hiring people to ensure they comply with federal requirements. These “block grants” often receive pushback. And when states receive set amounts rather than funds based on specific needs, they can often fall short.
“What about those students who are going to remain in those public schools?” James said. “We need to change our rhetoric to really focus on investment in public schools, as opposed to vouchers that take away from public schools.” Project 2025 suggests the federal government put anti-LGBTQ+ policies in place in the schools it oversees as a way to set an example to state and local leaders.