Is Shutting Down the DOE Such a Bad Idea?

Closing the DOE may be just what the country needs to heal the education system.

By Madison Fossa

 

Since his campaign rallies in the late summer, Trump has been promising the American people he would cut excess government agencies currently operating

Nine days after taking office, President Donald Trump and his administration began taking steps to abolish the United States Department of Education.  

Craig Trainor, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the DOE said that “the Trump Administration is directing schools to end the use of racial preferences and race stereotypes in their programs and activities”, and called Trump’s movement to shrink the DOE a “victory for justice, civil rights laws, and the Constitution.” This threat to the department, like many of the other cuts to the federal government made by President Trump, has outraged many on The Left.

 

The Myth of Lost Funding

Many Americans standing in opposition to Donald Trump are worried that if the DOE is disbanded, federal funding for education will be taken away from schools. However, the Department of Education was created by a special act of Congress under President Carter to oversee federal funds to schools, not provide them. For federal funding to be taken away from schools, Congress would have to revoke it in another special act, which is not only disconnected from the DOE, but also extremely unlikely.

Therefore, federal funding for schools would not vanish with the erasure of the Department of Education. Rather, this federal agency would simply no longer oversee the distribution and management of government education funds.

 

The Fundamental Issue of the Department’s Existence

Outrage (coming predominantly from Democrats across the country) fails to address the problems created by the Department of Education. The first of these is ideological: America was never supposed to have large government agencies that oversaw private areas of citizens’ lives. That changed dramatically when President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the New Deal, upending the tradition of a limited federal government. Because of rampant government growth through departments like the DOE, it is not surprising that DOGE has such a large task ahead if they aim to cut excess government spending and programs.

It is the responsibility and privilege of parents to control the education of their children. Education is a state right that cannot technically be mandated by the federal government directly. However, the creation of the education department interrupts parents’ rights in their children’s education and can come with politically charged The power held through the delegation of money to different school districts is dangerous.

The existence of the education department leaves the door open for in the education system, such as the indoctrination of students in schools receiving federal money from the DOE. Many Americans can see such issues in the DOE that have taken place since its inception.

 

Issue of Department Spending

What is worse than countless extensions of the federal government’s power are the exponential growth of these agencies. The Department of Education is an excellent example of the fiscal repercussions of uncontrolled government growth. Over the last 40 years, the Department of Education has increased their spending almost twice as much as the rest of the federal government. With an increase of 372% since 1980, the department spent $268 billion last year.

Not only is the department’s spending extraordinarily high, but the funds go towards efforts that not all taxpayers are in favor of. Funding for college programs, student loan forgiveness and DEI programs are delegated money by the Department of Education. Spending funds on radical propositions and ideologies the taxpayers don’t support is unacceptable in the American government. 

 

Issue in Department Purpose

The third major issue with the department is how it fulfills its duty to further education. Former Secretary of Education, Betty DeVos, has been speaking out in favor of Trump’s plans to shut down the DOE. DeVos mainly takes issue with the prioritization of students within the department. As American students continue to fall further behind academically, the DOE wastes money on higher education and adds politically charged requirements to the grants they provide to schools. DeVos proposes that students would be fine, even better, without the department, whose main job seems to be “shuffle[ing] money around” instead of aiding their education. According to DeVos, many parents discovered the failings of the DOE during COVID, when it was obvious that their children were learning things “antithetical to their family values or totally lacking in rigor and expectation”.

Because of virtual work and schooling that took place in 2020, the public is all too aware of these issues within the school system. DeVos believes that this is why DOGE has cultural momentum as it strives to diminish the DOE. If the DOE isn’t doing anything to better American education better, why allow it to exist at all?

 

Closing Thoughts

Because of the waste of taxpayer dollars by the Department of Education, the Trump Administration has set its sights on closing this federal agency. Already, the DOE has cut over $800 million from their budget. It is best for the American people that these cuts continue. With the closing of the DOE, the federal government will shrink, the unnecessary spending of taxpayer dollars decreases, and parents will be more involved in their children’s education.

 

 

About the Author

Madison Fossa is a sophomore at Grove City College, from New Jersey. She is a Trustee Scholar majoring in Biology and minoring in Technical Writing. Madison is an ambassador for Young Women for America, and the Vice President of Young Women for America on campus at Grove City.  

 

 

 

 

READ MORE BY MADISON FOSSA: Beyond the Headlines: Meta and Free Speech

 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer alone and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Grove City College, the Institute for Faith and Freedom, or its affiliates.

Cover Image: Photo by Natilyn Hicks Photography on Unsplash

Written by Madison Fossa. Contributing writer. Beyond the Headlines. Published on March 6. Edited by Scott Cross. Tags: Politics, Economics.