1:15 – It’s time for your monthly teacher reality check, where we translate education policy jargon into what it actually means for those of us in the classroom. So I’ve been hearing a lot of concern from teachers lately. When the Trump administration issued that executive order back in March about dismantling the Department of Education, the halls of many a school were a buzz with worried teachers. What does this mean for our funding? Are we losing Title One? What happens to special education services? And I realized that as a social studies teacher, I probably know a little bit more about government agencies than some folks, but even I had some misconceptions about what the Department of Education actually does versus what it doesn’t do. So today I want to clear up some of those misconceptions and give you the practical information you need as teachers to understand what this executive order actually means and what it doesn’t mean for your classroom.
2:20 – First, let’s talk about why this isn’t new. The Department of Education has been a political target since day one. And I mean day one. It was created in 1979 by President Carter and Ronald Reagan ran for president the following year, promising to eliminate it. Trump isn’t the first president to want to dismantle it, and he probably won’t be the last. Here’s why. The Constitution does not mention education at all. Under the 10th Amendment, anything not specifically mentioned in the Constitution is supposed to be left to the states. So from a constitutional perspective, there has been this ongoing debate about whether the federal government should be involved in education at all.
3:10 – The department was actually created for pretty political reasons. Carter promised it to win the endorsement of the National Education Association, the NEA, but his argument was that it made sense to bring together all the scattered education programs across different federal agencies into one place. The thing is, the Department of Education is actually one of the smallest cabinet agencies. It only has about 4200 employees. Compare that to, say the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense has about 2.9 million employees. So when people talk about this massive federal education bureaucracy, they’re really not talking about something huge in terms of government size.
4:00 – This is where I think teachers really need clarity. Let me break down what the Department of Education actually does. The Department of Education manages federal student loans and Pell Grants. This is actually most of their budget. It distributes about 10% of K through 12 funding nationwide through programs like Title I and IDEA. It enforces civil rights laws in schools that receive federal funding, things like Title IX and making sure students with disabilities get appropriate services. It collects educational data and conducts research. It provides some oversight to make sure federal education dollars are being used appropriately.
4:44 – Now, here’s what it doesn’t do. The Department of Education does not set curriculum. That’s what your state and local district do. It does not hire or fire teachers. That’s your local district. It doesn’t decide what textbooks you use. Again, that’s at the state and local level. It does not determine your graduation requirements. That’s at the state level. It does not set your school calendar. That is at the local district level. I think there’s this misconception that the Department of Education controls our daily work as teachers, but the reality is that almost everything you do day to day is decided by your state and your local district.
5:28 – Now I’ve seen Title I funding at work firsthand. At the Title I schools where I’ve taught that federal money helped pay for instructional coaches, tutoring programs for at risk students, and additional resources that did make a real difference for kids who needed extra support. So while it’s not the majority of school funding, it does matter for specific populations of students.
5:53 – But here’s what I want every teacher to understand. An executive order cannot eliminate the Department of Education. Only Congress can do that by passing a law. What the executive order can do is this. It can reallocate some resources within the department. It can change how existing programs are implemented. It can direct the secretary of education to prepare for potential changes. It can also freeze some funding or change some regulations. The Executive Order directs the Education Secretary to, and I’m quoting, “return authority over education to the states and local communities,” and it talks about keeping some core necessities, but it can’t actually shut down the department.
6:45 – Could Congress actually eliminate the department? This has been tried before. Reagan wanted to do it. Other Republican presidents and congressional leaders have proposed it, but it’s never happened. And here’s why it’s really difficult. You need 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a filibuster. That means you need some Democratic senators to vote for it, which seems unlikely. Even among Republicans, there’s not always unanimous support, because many of them represent states that benefit significantly from federal education funding. Just this July, Senators from both parties, including 14 Republicans, voted to reject virtually all of Trump’s proposed education budget cuts. They actually provided modest increases for Title I and special education funding. So even with Republican control of Congress, there’s clear bipartisan resistance to dramatic changes to federal education programs. According to a poll from PDK International, that’s an international professional organization for educators, most Americans actually oppose eliminating the Department of Education when you ask them directly about it, regardless of their political leanings. It sounds good in campaign speeches, but when you get down to the practical details of what it would actually mean, it becomes way more complicated.
8:13 – Okay, so let’s say hypothetically this did happen, and that’s a big stretch. What would eliminating the Department of Education actually mean for your classroom? In the best case scenario, it means that the functions just get moved to other federal agencies. The funding streams continue, just administered from somewhere else. Teachers might not even notice the difference.
8:41 – There’s always the worst case scenario. We’ll call it the more dramatic case scenario here, and that’s that some of the major funding programs get eliminated or significantly reduced. So here’s what that could look like. Title I funding serves schools with high percentages of low income students. If this went away, those schools would lose funding for things like additional reading specialists, smaller class sizes, Extended Learning Time and family engagement programs. States could choose to replace this funding, but many states are already strapped for education dollars.
9:20 – IDEA funding. The IDEA is huge. Actually, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires schools to provide appropriate services for students with disabilities, but it also provides some federal funding to help with those costs. The law creates legal protections. Parents can file complaints with the Department of Education if their child isn’t getting appropriate services, and this process is free. Without federal oversight and funding, you’d be relying entirely on state laws and funding for special education. Some states have strong protections, like Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Connecticut, but others, like Mississippi, Alabama and Wyoming don’t. According to the NEA, parents would lose that accessible federal complaint process and would have to hire lawyers or go through state systems that might not be as responsive. This law affects about 7 million students nationwide who receive special education services.
10:29 – What about Pell grant and student loans? This would be devastating for higher education access. I’m a Pell Grant recipient myself. Without that support, college would have been much more financially challenging for my family. This affects not just current college students, but future teachers. If it becomes harder to afford college, we’re going to have an even worse teacher shortage.
10:56 – Civil rights enforcement would definitely be impacted right now, if a school discriminates against students based on race, gender, disability status or other protected characteristics, the Office of Civil Rights can investigate and potentially cut off federal funding. Without that enforcement mechanism, you’re relying on state agencies and courts, which vary widely by state.
11:21 – And speaking of civil rights enforcement, the Trump administration’s DEI executive orders are already changing how this works. Schools are now being required to certify that they don’t have Diversity Equity and Inclusion programs that advantage one’s race over another, or they could lose their Title I funding, which puts schools in the difficult position of trying to address achievement gaps and support underrepresented students while avoiding anything the federal government might consider DEI.
11:56 – Research and data are also a major concern. Teachers and policy makers rely on national education data to understand what’s working and what isn’t. Without federal coordination, we’d lose a lot of that comparative information.
12:12 – Let’s talk about what this would mean for our families next. The families who would be most affected are those who already face the biggest challenges, families of students with disabilities who rely on federal law for protections, low income families in Title I schools, families in states with weaker civil rights protections, college bound students who need financial aid. There is a real equity concern here. Students in well funded districts and states with strong education departments might not notice much of a difference, but students in under resourced areas could see pretty big impacts.
12:52 – So what should we do? Here are some questions you can ask your administrators to get a clearer grasp on how this could potentially impact your school. Ask them, how much Title I funding does our district receive, and what does it pay for? How much IDEA funding do we get for special education services? What’s our district’s plan if federal funding changes? How would we replace federal programs if they’re eliminated? How is our district interpreting the new DEI requirements? What programs or practices might be affected by the DEI executive orders?
13:30 – Here’s what you can look out for. Watch for changes in federal grant applications and funding announcements. Pay attention to your state’s education budget discussions, they might need to pick up some more slack. Monitor any changes to special education services and civil rights policies in your district. Keep an eye on teacher preparation programs and student loan policies that affect future teachers.
13:59 – As teachers, we need to stay informed, but not panic. The reality is that most of what we do every day is governed by state and local policies, not federal ones. But we also need to understand that federal funding and oversight do provide important protections and resources, especially for our most vulnerable students. The Department of Education is not perfect. No government agency is, but it does help serve some important functions in promoting equity and supporting students who need extra help.
14:37 – Here’s my honest assessment. I think it’s unlikely that Congress will completely eliminate the Department of Education. It’s politically difficult and practically complicated. What’s more likely is that we’ll see some changes to how federal education programs operate and maybe some reduction in federal oversight. But as teachers, we should be prepared for the possibility that some federal programs could be reduced or eliminated, and we should advocate for our students by staying informed and communicating with our administrators and state representatives about what these changes could mean for our schools. The most important thing is to separate the political rhetoric from the practical reality. Federal funding makes up less than 10% of school budgets nationwide, but for specific programs and specific populations of students, it can be significant.
15:38 – I hope this helps you understand what’s actually happening versus what the headlines are saying. As always, knowledge is power and as teachers we’re most effective when we understand the systems we’re working within. If you have any questions about how federal education policy affects your specific situation, I’d encourage you to reach out to your district administration, your state education department, or your local representatives. They need to hear from teachers about what these potential changes could mean for our students.
16:14 – Stay informed, stay engaged, and remember, you’re the expert on what happens in your classroom every day. Your voice matters in these conversations. Thanks so much for listening to this month’s teacher reality check. I’ll be back next week with more teacher perspectives on education. Until then, keep doing the amazing work you do every day.
