The Department of Education and Educational Equality: Risks of Dismantling America's Educational Safety Net
And why it matters to our democracy.
The dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education represents a fundamental shift away from federal commitments to educational equality, threatening to return America to an era of stark educational disparities based on geography, race, and economic status—undermining the democratic principle that every child deserves quality education regardless of their zip code.
A Personal Perspective: Why Public Education Matters to Everyone
As someone who previously ran Parents for Public Schools, Truckee-North Tahoe Chapter, I witnessed firsthand how crucial public schools are for both individual students and society. This experience taught me that education matters to everyone—not just parents—because schools affect property values, economic development, community safety, and democratic participation.
Parent involvement emerged as critical to student success, but our schools face a bigger challenge: they're struggling to adapt to rapid technological change. With AI transforming our world, students need entirely different skills—critical thinking, emotional intelligence, creative problem-solving, and ethical reasoning. The education system must evolve to prepare students for a post-AI world while preserving the equality and democratic values that make public education essential.
This makes the current dismantling of federal oversight not just misguided, but potentially catastrophic.
The Department's Role in Advancing Equality
Since 1979, the Department of Education has served as the federal government's primary tool for ensuring equitable educational opportunities across America's diverse landscape. Key programs include:
• Title I Funding: $18.4 billion annually for high-poverty schools, providing reading specialists and smaller class sizes • Special Education: $15.5 billion ensuring students with disabilities receive appropriate services regardless of state wealth • Civil Rights Enforcement: Protecting students from discrimination based on race, sex, and other factors • Student Financial Aid: $1.6 trillion federal loan program making higher education accessible to millions
The Current Dismantling and Supreme Court Support
What's Happening
President Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 to dismantle the Department, implementing immediate changes:
• Massive Staff Cuts: Workforce reduced from 4,133 to roughly 2,183 employees • Program Eliminations: Over $900 million in educational research contracts canceled • Civil Rights Office Closures: Regional offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, and New York closing • Function Transfers: Student loans and special education programs moved to other agencies
Supreme Court Ruling (July 14, 2025)
The Supreme Court issued a pivotal 6-3 ruling allowing Trump to proceed with mass layoffs of nearly 1,400 Education Department employees. Within two hours of the decision, termination notices were sent to affected workers.
Constitutional Concerns: Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a scathing dissent calling the decision "indefensible," warning it "hands the Executive the power to repeal statutes by firing all those necessary to carry them out." She noted that while "Presidents have recognized they lack the unilateral authority to eradicate a Department that Congress has tasked with fulfilling statutory duties," this ruling effectively allows exactly that through mass firings.
Challenges and Legitimate Criticisms
The Department faces real problems that fuel calls for reform:
• Persistent Achievement Gaps: 70% of 8th graders below proficient in reading, 72% in math • Administrative Inefficiency: Managing $1.6 trillion in student loans with only 1,500 staff compared to Wells Fargo's 200,000+ employees for similar portfolio size • Federal Overreach Concerns: Critics argue education should remain under state and local control
The Equality Crisis: Why This Threatens Democracy
Geographic Inequality Returns
Without federal oversight, education quality will mirror state and local wealth. Wealthy states like Connecticut will maintain strong systems while poorer states like Mississippi struggle, creating permanent educational disadvantages for children based solely on their zip code.
Civil Rights Rollback
Key protections at risk: • Students with Disabilities: Loss of federal mandates could eliminate special education services • Low-Income Students: Title I could become unaccountable block grants to states • Minority Students: No federal enforcement of anti-discrimination laws • LGBTQ+ Students: Elimination of gender identity protections
Data and Standards Collapse
The Institute of Education Sciences, which runs the Nation's Report Card, faces major cuts. Without standardized data collection, identifying and addressing educational inequities becomes nearly impossible.
Potential Benefits vs. Risks
Possible Advantages
• State Innovation: Increased autonomy might enable experimental educational approaches • Reduced Bureaucracy: More resources flowing directly to classrooms • Local Responsiveness: Programs designed for specific community needs
Why These Don't Outweigh the Risks
Historical evidence shows that without federal oversight, educational opportunities remain starkly unequal. The benefits of local control are overwhelmed by the systematic exclusion and discrimination that federal involvement was designed to address.
Democratic Stakes
Educational equality isn't just policy preference—it's fundamental to democratic governance. In democracy, citizens must be capable of informed civic participation, requiring literacy, critical thinking, and civic knowledge.
Economic Mobility: Education remains the primary mechanism for economic advancement. When educational opportunities are unequal, they perpetuate economic inequalities, creating cycles where wealthy families purchase advantages while poor families remain trapped.
National Competitiveness: In a knowledge-based global economy, educational inequality represents massive waste of human potential that weakens America's competitive position.
Public Opinion vs. Political Reality
Despite political rhetoric, Americans support federal involvement in education: • 67% want the Department expanded or maintained (Economist/YouGov poll) • 60% oppose Trump's elimination plan (Quinnipiac poll) • Only 33% support dismantling, with two-thirds of Republicans backing the idea
This suggests the dismantling reflects political ideology rather than public demand.
The Path Forward
The challenge is finding approaches that preserve federal commitment to equality while addressing legitimate concerns about efficiency and local control.
Potential Solutions:
• Targeted Federal Role: Focus on civil rights enforcement, data collection, and support for disadvantaged populations while giving states more implementation flexibility
• Regional Compacts: States could pool resources and coordinate standards while maintaining local control
• Strengthened Oversight with Flexibility: Maintain equality protections and funding for disadvantaged students while reducing bureaucratic constraints
Conclusion: What's at Stake
The dismantling represents more than bureaucratic reorganization—it's a fundamental choice about American society. Most Americans recognize federal involvement's value in ensuring educational equality, but political forces are proceeding regardless.
The question isn't whether the current system is perfect—it isn't. The question is whether we can reform federal education policy while preserving its crucial equality role, or accept a return to pre-federal educational disparities.
For democratic society, the stakes couldn't be higher. Educational equality ensures the shared knowledge, skills, and values that make democratic governance possible. As we face unprecedented technological change requiring coordinated educational innovation, dismantling federal oversight threatens to abandon our most vulnerable students exactly when they need support most.
The potential benefits of reduced bureaucracy and increased state flexibility risk being overwhelmed by a return to educational inequalities that federal involvement was designed to address. The challenge is preserving both American commitment to equality and values of local control that have always been central to our educational tradition.
A Call to Action: We Cannot Afford to Stand on the Sidelines
As someone who has worked directly in educational advocacy, I am not sure exactly how we navigate this crisis, but I am certain of one thing: we must become more involved in our local and state educational discussions because there is simply way too much at stake to ignore.
The dismantling of federal educational oversight means that the decisions affecting our children's futures are increasingly being made at the state and local level. This makes every school board meeting, every state legislature session, and every local education budget discussion critically important. We cannot assume that others will protect the educational opportunities our children need—we must show up, speak up, and ensure that equity and quality remain priorities even as the federal safety net disappears.
Whether you have children in school or not, whether you agree with federal involvement in education or prefer local control, we all share a stake in ensuring that the next generation has the skills, knowledge, and opportunities they need to succeed in an rapidly changing world. The time for passive concern is over—our democracy and our future depend on active engagement in the educational decisions that are being made in our communities including how funding will be managed going forward.
References
The White House. (March 20, 2025). "Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities."
Al Jazeera Staff. (March 22, 2025). "Why is Trump dismantling the Department of Education – and what's next?"
Meckler, L. (February 12, 2025). "Trump's vision for dismantling the Department of Education." PBS News.
Howe, A. (July 14, 2025). "Supreme Court clears the way for Trump administration to massively reduce the size of the Department of Education." SCOTUSblog.
NPR Staff. (July 14, 2025). "Supreme Court says Trump's efforts to close the Education Department can continue."
Bendix, A. (March 26, 2025). "Trump signs executive order dismantling the Department of Education." The 19th.
National Education Association. "How Dismantling the Department of Education Would Harm Students."
Natanson, H. (July 15, 2025). "Supreme Court ruling on Education cuts revive questions about testing." The Washington Post.
Alcindor, Y., et al. (February 6, 2025). "Trump preparing executive order to abolish the Education Department." NBC News.
Hurley, L. (July 14, 2025). "Supreme Court allows Trump administration to implement widespread Education Department layoffs." NBC News.
CNN Politics Staff. (July 15, 2025). "Supreme Court allows Trump to proceed with mass firings at Education Department."
Johnson, H. (July 15, 2025). "Congressman Johnson's Statement on Supreme Court's Ruling." House Press Release.
ABC News Staff. (July 14, 2025). "Supreme Court allows Trump to continue effort to gut Education Department."
The White House. (March 20, 2025). "Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Empowers Parents, States, and Communities."
Meckler, L. (July 15, 2025). "Trump wants to dismantle the Education Department. What would that do?" The Washington Post.