Ever since the Department of Education was established in 1979, the Republican party has been rallying to abolish it. However, this fight has taken a backseat due to other issues becoming more center stage such as same-sex marriage and abortion rights. But recently, Donald Trump has brought this fight back to the forefront by promising several times to finally abolish the Department of Education.
Before we get into why, it’s important to know what the Department of Education does and the history behind it. Originally, the Department of Education was created in 1867 by President Andrew Johnson to help the nation create effective schooling systems. However, due to fear that it would usurp the power of the local government, this proto-department of education was demoted to the Office of Education, which had significantly less power and oversight. The Department of Education was reestablished as a federal department in 1979 by the late President Jimmy Carter to collect data on the nation’s schools and enforce federal level education mandates.
The mission of the Department of Education, as per their website, is to “Strengthen the Federal commitment to assuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual.” The Department of Education aims to fulfill this mission in several ways. One of the biggest is the administration of federal financial aid. This includes Pell Grants, federal student loans (FAFSA), and the federal work-study program. This helps millions of students, especially students from low-income families, to attend college.
Beyond financial support, the Department of Education also plays a key role in enforcing anti-discrimination-based laws within education. For example, Title IX, signed into law in 1972 by President Nixon, prohibits gender-based discrimination in educational programs and extracurriculars. The most notable impact of Title IX is requiring any school that receives federal funding to provide comparable athletic programs for both males and females. Another example is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which was signed into law by President Ford in 1975 and ensures that children diagnosed with a disability receive proper treatment in their educational career. This includes giving students with disabilities a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) possible. Individualized Education Programs (IEPS) are also included in the IDEA. An IEP is a personalized plan for a student with a disability to meet the educational standards of their grade. As of May 2024, 7.5 million students across the country have an IEP.
After reading this, you might be asking yourself, how would this affect our school? If the Department of Education were to be cut, Harrison would potentially lose funding for programs including special education and Title I. While any state could choose to make up the shortfalls in funding and oversight, the current politics of Ohio makes this very unlikely. A potentially more devastating result would be that while the IDEA would still technically protect students with IEPS and 504s, there would be no one left to enforce the act. Students who earn FAPE would lose their education and would be forced to find alternative, likely more expensive options. Even in a small corner of Ohio, we would be feeling the devastating effects of abolishing the Department of Education.
The Department of Education clearly does a lot of great things for the nation, so why do Trump and the Republicans want to abolish it? It all goes back to the 80s with President Ronald Reagan. He and the Republicans believed that the federal government should have only a minor role in education and that it should be left to the state and local levels. Throughout his campaign, he promised to abolish the department. However, due to a Democrat controlled House of Representatives, Reagan was unable to fulfill this promise. Republicans still hold to the ideal of keeping the federal government out of the education system, but it is not the only reason Republicans want to abolish the Department of Education.
A more recent complaint about the Department of Education is that ‘liberals are ruining public education with woke ideology’. It is important to establish what woke means and how it is different from how Trump and many Republicans often use it. To be “woke” is to be aware of political and social issues. However, some Republicans have distorted the word’s meaning to instead mean an overly progressive, dangerous ideology that prioritizes social justice over traditional values.
But why does a four-letter word matter so much to a group of people that they would shut down an entire department of the federal government because of it? Republicans believe that the woke ideology is destroying America and its values. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots are often cited as an example of this “dangerous woke ideology.” Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis has gone so far as to say that “Florida is where woke goes to die,” showcasing just how much Republicans view wokeness as a threat.
Everyone deserves a quality education. As per the United Nations, education is a right, not a privilege. Education is the key to lifting individuals out of poverty and promoting peace. Cutting the Department of Education only serves to go against the United Nations and take our country down a dark turn. Without the Department of Education, millions of people would be unable to get an education. Every student with an IEP could potentially lose it. Any student on financial aid would be left with no way to pay for college. Education can save people from turning down a bad road. A false narrative of a “dangerous woke ideologies” is no reason to abolish such an important part of the federal government.
Abolishing the Department of Education would be a terrible decision for this nation. Ensuring that everyone has access to a quality education is of the utmost importance for any nation, but especially of the United States. We need to be advancing knowledge, not abolishing the Department of Education. We need to make America educated again.
