American President Donald Trump has initiated plans to lay off over 1,300 employees of the federal sector, the Department of Education. These plans have been announced after prior steps taken to reduce the amount of staff by methods of buyout offers and firings of probationary employees. In total, this should leave the federal sector with approximately half of its 4,133 employees it began with before Trump's efforts to downsize.

Background

The Department of Education is a federal sector which was signed into law in 1980 by Jimmy Carter, the American President at that time.

This agency has various roles.

Firstly, it provides funding to United States public schooling through avenues such as Title I (part of the Every Student Succeeds Act) which provides funding to schools in low income communities to guarantee impoverished children have the same access to quality education their financially privileged peers do. The sector also provides funding to schools through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act which guarantees disabled children have matching access to education as non disabled students.

Well known examples of this include Individualized Education Programs and 504 plans.

Secondly, the agency is in charge of managing financial aid for colleges and universities such as student loans, work study programs and Pell Grants for students who would otherwise be unable to afford higher education.

The Department of Education also tracks metrics such as graduation rates, number of admissions, educational success, and financial aid acceptance statistics from one college to the next. The sector also manages the National Assessment of Educational Progress which provides assessments to students to track their performances in various school subjects.

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The Various Controversies

Despite all of these factors, the existence and necessity of the Department of Education has been a hot topic debate for decades between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats have been a proponent of the agency majorly due to the essential functions they perform, but Republicans have expressed various concerns over the years.

Their concerns have been in regards to dedication to limited government, local and state control over education (despite the fact states do control their educational curricula), lower governmental spending and decreasing the number of federal workers.

But, in recent years, the opposition has also been due to what some have called a "radical agenda" "indoctrinating" students in schools. This is typically in reference to LGBTQI+ inclusive instruction, and transgender students playing sports or using locker rooms/restrooms based on gender rather than anatomy. Others oppose it due to some teachers using pronouns or names requested by students, which some folks claim should only be allowed with parental notification and consent.

Trump's Motivations

There has been a lot of conversation theorizing over Trump's motivations in these layoffs and downsizing of the Department of Education.

Today, he made this clear.

The American President signed an executive order commanding the secretary of education, Linda McMahon, to begin the dismantling of the agency.

Trump remarked,

"We’re going to shut it down, and shut it down as quickly as possible."

This act cannot be began without Congressional approval, so the matter has to be voted upon beforehand. Will members of Congress agree with eliminating the department? That is what we all want to know.

Widespread Concerns

Due to the fact the Department of Education manages financial aid, college students have understandably expressed concern over how they will continue their higher education if the agency is dismantled. When the question was posed to the president at a press conference last month, he claimed student loans would be "brought into either Treasury or Small Business Administration or Commerce". But, these sectors have never been in charge of financial aid, so how would that go?

Time can only tell. This uncertainty is not very reassuring to many folks.

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Parents of disabled children who have IEPs or 504s, and low income families who have students attending Title I schooling are also in a panic. Will children with learning disabilities face barriers to quality education they didn't have before? Yes, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act will still stand, but without the accountability and funding of the Department of Education (ED), this could potentially lead to adverse outcomes.

According to policy analyst, Carrie Gillispie:

"ED holds states accountable for providing special education according to IDEA in order to receive these federal funds. States vary in terms of how much money they allocate to serving students with disabilities...A key role of ED is to ensure that states use this money accurately and to verify that funding gets to the students who are eligible for special education.''

So if someone resides in a state with more restrictive pathways to accessibility, will families be forced to move (that's if it's even affordable to do so)?

Will funding for Title I schools be heavily reduced, causing teachers to lose their jobs when there is already a teacher shortage? Will various educational institutions be closed down?

These were troubling concerns echoed by many regarding the speculation over dismantling the Department of Education. Now with today's signing, the situation for some feels much more dire.

The State of Education

I feel we can all agree that no matter class, disability, or state, all children deserve access to an education to prepare them for a happy, healthy future. Yet currently, concerns are rising all over the country. Literacy rates are falling, achievement gaps are widening, test scores are declining.

Will removing the Department of Education only worsen the issue? Removing government funding from school systems already in trouble? That's the golden question.