The Trump Administration's Plan to Dismantle the Department of Education: Implications for Teachers, Universities, and Minority Students
Congress founded the Department of Education in 1980 to help states establish effective school systems by ensuring equal access for students, preventing discriminatory practices, and coordinating federal assistance to education. The Department of Education is now the sixth highest-funded federal agency, receiving 4% of all federal funding in 2024 (USAFacts). However, Trump’s administration proposal to defund the Department of Education will have far-reaching consequences for universities across the U.S., exacerbating the national teacher shortage and disproportionately affecting minority communities that rely on the department's support and resources, including low-income, disabled, and FAFSA-seeking students.
Defunding the Department of Education will affect universities across the U.S. by amplifying the national teacher shortage. The national teacher shortage is the lack of teachers in the education system due to professional drawbacks, including low wages, low benefits, and long hours. A recent study found that at least 55,000 teaching positions are vacant in the education system across the nation due to these poor working conditions (Peck, D.). The Department of Education is revamping the education workforce under Title I- a federal education program that supports low-income students- by providing resources for districts to support and incentivize teachers, specifically in low-income communities, to grow the industry (James, W.,& Ragland, W.). Various states are implementing state incentive legislation to grow the education workforce. For example, Iowa recently passed a bill to raise teacher salaries, while Minnesota, South Dakota, and Virginia are introducing legislation to set a minimum wage for teachers. However, Project 2025 proposes a plan to phase out Title I of the department, which would reverse these state-based incentives. The Trump administration's proposal to eliminate 6% of the education workforce (James, W., & Ragland, W.) through Project 2025 would not only exacerbate the national teacher shortage by reducing the workforce, but also undermine critical incentive policies aimed at improving future teacher retention.
Trump's project to defund the Department of Education will also affect universities across the U.S. by disproportionately impacting low-income, disabled, and FAFSA-seeking students who heavily rely on the department's resources. The department is responsible for enforcing non-discrimination laws in school districts, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the education system. The Department of Education provides Federal Student Aid to an estimated 13 million students from low-income backgrounds (Alfonseca, K., & Jones, A.). This aid is vital to increasing the accessibility of education to students of different backgrounds. Without Federal Student Aid, there would be a drastic decrease of low-income students attending university. Nonetheless, Trump has proposed disinvestments in programs supported by the Department of Education including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and programs within the Federal Student Aid office. Since the Department of Education protects educational discrimination against disabled, low-income, and FAFSA seeking students, disinvesting in the department's programs will cut vital education legislation and aid for these groups.
The proposal to defund the Department of Education will have far-reaching consequences for universities across the U.S., exacerbating the national teacher shortage while also negatively impacting minority groups by rolling back protective legislation. This drastic move could destabilize the already fragile education system, leading to cuts in vital programs and resources that support both students and educators. With fewer financial resources, universities may struggle to provide equitable access to education, disproportionately affecting underrepresented and low-income communities. The proposal not only threatens to diminish the quality of education but also undermines efforts to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all students, particularly those from historically underserved backgrounds.
Citations
Alfonseca, K., & Jones, A. (2024, November 19). What eliminating the Department of Education could mean for students, schools. ABC7 New York. https://abc7ny.com/post/donald-trump-transition-news-what-eliminating-department-education-could-mean-students-schools/15559633/
Peck, D. (n.d.). 15 teacher shortage statistics (2024): Devlin Peck. RSS. https://www.devlinpeck.com/content/teacher-shortage-statistics#:~:text=This%20website%20dedicated%20to%20reporting,of%2014%25%20two%20years%20ago.
USAFacts. (2024, November 14). What does the Department of Education do? https://usafacts.org/articles/what-does-the-department-of-education-do/#:~:text=The%20DOE%20is%20has%20received,sixth%20highest%2Dfunded%20federal%20agency.
Meet the Author
Taylor Solomon