It saddens me that this is a subject of debate in today’s world. It seems a simple conclusion to preserve a department whose goal is to ensure our youth a high quality education.
Now, what is the Department of Education (ED) and how does it affect you? While the Department has many undertakings, I’ll detail the most critical. They establish education policy and set national priorities, allocate federal funding to states and schools, and provide Pell grants to disadvantaged students seeking higher education. If you’re a senior and have filled out the FAFSA, you can thank the department of education. Most importantly I’d argue, is that they focus on education equality, striving to ensure no student faces discrimination based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and a multitude of other factors.
Abolishing the agency doesn’t remove its necessity, its responsibilities must still be carried out. Trump has proposed two options: the ED being absorbed by other departments or its powers being devolved to the states. Both have fatal flaws.
During Trump’s first term he suggested a merger of the ED and the Department of Labor. Of course, this never came to fruition but if it had the consequences would have been enormous. There’s a reason they are two separate entities, both specialize in entirely different sectors. Those who work for the ED are the ones with the best understanding of the system’s nuances. To combine departments, in an effort to save resources, would hinder the government’s ability to effectively oversee all the aspects of education.
By devolving power to the states we are taking a major risk. As with any states right, if that subset of people deem that it isn’t a priority, there’s a possibility that it’ll be removed altogether. At what point must we give power to the bureaucracy to protect our fundamental rights and when must we prioritize the moral good over communal values? Education and our children’s future is too important to jeopardize.
Our education system ranks around 13th in the world, a far cry from the expected top 3 we’ve become accustomed to. According to usaspending.gov we pour roughly 250 billion dollars into said system and are still well off the mark set by Iceland, Germany, and New Zealand. Something must be done but that doesn’t start by removing the department that so many are reliant on and that has the resources to solve the issue.
To promote education equality, to foster innovation, to protect a fundamental right, and to enable future generations to meet the demands of their world, we must preserve the department of education.
