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Ever since it was established in 1979, opponents of the Department of Education have tried to abolish it. Supporters routinely brushed off this empty rhetoric and went about their business. But times have changed, and abolishing the Department of Education is now part of the official Republican platform. With the party’s platform and its presidential candidate both calling for the Department’s demise, it’s time to take these threats seriously and understand what losing the DOE would mean for schools across the country.
Conversations about eradicating the Department of Education have often led to a fundamental question: If states and local school districts largely control education, why do we even need a federal Department of Education?
The Department of Education plays an indispensable role in the educational achievement and experience of our nation’s children. The Department identifies major problems in education and informs Congress about new trends and research. It provides vital grants and funding for underserved student groups and enforces essential federal statutes.
Additionally, The Office of Civil Rights, housed in the Department of Education, does essential work to support the rights of students and ensure they are not facing discrimination within an educational environment. They are responsible for investigating civil rights complaints, which have been at a record high recently. It is critical that the Office of Civil Rights is protected to ensure the safety of students across the country. Making changes to the authority of the Office of Civil Rights is particularly concerning for ensuring civil rights for students with disabilities, who continue to be subjected to harsh seclusion and restraint practices in certain schools. With such limited federal oversight, students could be in increased danger of discrimination, including physical punishment, within educational environments.
Without federal oversight from the Department of Education, different states could provide radically different qualities of education and curricula. In Louisiana, a new law requires schools to display the Ten Commandments in all classrooms. In Oklahoma, the state superintendent has directed all schools to begin teaching the Bible. Without federal accountability, this type of overreach would likely skyrocket.
Eliminating the Department of Education would be ridding society of the only federal department that is exclusively committed to children. Without a federal Department of Education, it would be impossible to ensure that all students across the country have access to a high-quality and equitable educational experience, states are abiding by essential standards, and the educational experience within the U.S. remains competitive globally. Additionally, transferring existing programs to various agencies would require increasing staff and taking education oversight out of the hands of seasoned education policy experts.
Disability Advocates Fight Back (and win!)
Missouri: Dondi Baldwin — a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Missouri–St. Louis — has been working hard to advocate for students with disabilities. After experiencing a traumatic spinal cord injury, Baldwin created a peer-mentoring support group for students and community members who are living with similar injuries in Missouri. Facilitating these meetings prompted Baldwin’s return to school to pursue a career in social work. Baldwin is working to complete a practicum with the Office of Inclusive Postsecondary Education’s Succeed Program, which supports students with disabilities in higher education.
New York: The work of disability advocates in New York City has helped lead to the restructuring of the city’s Department of Education, which will now include a new division to support students with disabilities and children learning English as a second language. The new division — the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning (DIAL) — will have a $750 million budget and 1,300 staffers to support students with disabilities and English language learners and will be led by former Chief of Special Education Christina Foti. In discussing the importance of the division, Mayor Eric Adams said “We’ve heard it over and over and over again about this population of achievers who are not given the opportunity that they deserve,” and stated that “we’re going to give it our all.”
Events & Resources for Action
Red, Wine, and Blue is an organization dedicated to engaging women at a grassroots level and drives media narratives to better reflect issues faced by the “everyday woman.” One of their initiatives, Freedom to Parent 21st Century Kids, is a movement of “mainstream moms (and dads) who are standing up for our freedom to decide what’s best for our kids, ensure their safety, and set them up for success.”
The National Education Association is the largest labor union in the United States. They created a toolkit titled “Defending the Freedom of our LGBTQ+ Students to be Themselves,” which discusses the importance of supporting and protecting LGBTQ+ students and provides strategies for getting involved.