On the Department of Education

As you are likely well aware, there is a hurricane going through our federal government. It's really no way to audit or judge the efficacy of any given department but here we are.

The Department of Education is one such place. Clearly, the Republican administration literally hates this department, wants to destroy it, and favors "choice" education.  

If I had a disabled child in K-12, I would be very worried.   

As one university dean says: “I don’t think there’s an upside to the chaos and uncertainty that is being experienced in real time.”

The GOP administration has nominated billionaire Linda McMahon of WWE fame as Secretary of Education.  From The 74:

After weeks of closure rumors and President Donald Trump pushing to shutter the U.S. Department of Education “immediately,” his education secretary nominee Thursday offered the strongest statement so far that the fate of the agency rests with Congress.

“It clearly cannot be shut down without it,” Linda McMahon said during a confirmation hearing before the Senate education committee. “We’d like to do this right. We’d like to make sure that we are presenting a plan that I think our senators could get on board with.”

Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington and former head of the committee, put McMahon on the spot over how she might answer to both Congress and the White House. 

“What will you do if the president or Elon Musk tells you not to spend the money Congress has appropriated?” Murray asked.

Currently chair of the America First Policy Institute, a far-right think tank, she stumbled when Murray asked her to identify the provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the overarching K-12 education law that requires annual assessments and accountability for student performance. And she appeared to support the more expansive definition of sexual misconduct embraced by the Biden administration rather than the 2020 Title IX rule the department is now slated to reinstate. 

From the AP:

She pledged to preserve federal Title I money for low-income schools, Pell grants for low-income college students and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, all of which were created by Congress.

Democrats were alarmed by McMahon’s response to questions about Trump’s order to ban DEI programs in schools. Asked if African American history classes could trigger a loss of federal money, McMahon said she wasn’t certain and needed to look into it.

The full Senate is to vote on her confirmation this week. 

 

Much of the work of this department is protected under laws passed by Congress. From the Brookings Institution:

Education in the United States—from early childhood to higher education—is largely funded and governed by states and localities. The federal government plays a comparatively small financial and operational role in K-12 and postsecondary education. However, its role is vital to supporting students’ access to high-quality educational opportunities and preparing an engaged citizenry and future workforce.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is tasked with serving America’s students by administering and coordinating several of the largest and most consequential federal education programs, along with serving its other legislatively defined purposes. With 4,233 employees as of May 2024, ED’s workforce is the smallest of the 15 Cabinet-level executive departments.

• Congress authorizes funding for a broad range of education initiatives, including grants to school districts, financial aid for students, and research investments, ensuring federal support reaches key areas of the education system.
• The U.S. Department of Education plays a critical role in distributing these congressionally approved funds to students and schools while overseeing their use to maintain accountability and compliance with federal regulations.
• Beyond fund distribution, the Department helps uphold federal education priorities, such as civil rights protections and support for disadvantaged students, ensuring equitable access to educational opportunities.Title One support, ELL, civil rights protections for both Gen Ed and Special Education students, and Title IV which is financial support for higher ed students

Notably, all of these programs allocate money according to formulas defined by Congress. ED does not decide how much each district receives but is simply tasked with disbursing funding according to the congressionally-defined formulas (some of which are quite complex).

Now these functions could be shuffled off elsewhere but not having a clearinghouse for this work would likely dilute it. 

What's happening on the ground right now?  From The 74:

The U.S. Department of Education has abruptly canceled a national test of 17-year-olds after saying just last week that its recent round of cuts would not impact the National Assessment of Educational Progress. 

One of three long-term studies that has measured student performance in math and reading since the 1970s, the assessment was set to begin in March and run through May.

A long-term trend assessment of 13 year olds was conducted last fall. The age 9 administration is currently underway through March 14 and will continue. Age 17 data, however, hasn’t been collected since 2012, creating a significant gap in understanding older students’ academic performance. (Editor's note: age 17 was supposed to happen in 2019 but COVID cancelled that.)

This year’s data would have set a new baseline for understanding how older students are recovering “from pandemic-era learning losses,” said Andrew Ho, an assessment expert at Harvard University and former member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for NAEP. 

The cancellation, he said, could undermine the nation’s trust in the assessment program. 

“This is just the first direct evidence that executive actions have weakened NAEP and its ‘gold standard’ infrastructure for monitoring educational progress.” 

“NAEP’s biggest gaps already are at the end of high school, telling us what kids do [or] don’t know and can [or] can’t do as they prepare to enter the real world,” said Chester Finn, president emeritus of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute and former chair of the board. The long-term trend study has “helped fill the gap.” 

The move contradicts what department officials said last week when they canceled nearly $900 million in contracts for the Institute of Education Sciences, which includes NCES and NAEP. Madison Biedermann, a spokeswoman for the department, said at the time that work related to NAEP would not be canceled. 

But Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency continues to cancel contracts it deems either wasteful or contrary to President Donald Trump’s executive order related to diversity, equity and inclusion. 

On science grants:

Educators and researchers nationwide have been suffering similar shocks as the Trump administration raises a microscope — and in some cases an ax — to billions of dollars in federal research grants and contracts. On Monday, it said it had canceled dozens of Institute of Education Sciences contracts, worth an estimated $881 million and covering nearly the institute’s entire research portfolio, according to several sources. 

Last week, the NSF began combing through billions of dollars in already-awarded grants in search of keywords that imply the researchers address gender ideology, diversity, equity and inclusion — all themes opposed by the administration.

While the administration has said the moves are an attempt to rein in federal spending that doesn’t comport with its priorities and values, it has offered no explanation for cuts to bedrock, non-political research around topics like math, literacy, school attendance, school quality and student mental health.

The department did not release a list of zeroed-out programs, but a document shared widely online indicates that they include research covering a wide range of topics including literacy but also math, science, mental health, attendance, English acquisition and others. Also on the chopping block: contracts for The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), a test given to students every four years in 64 countries and a key indicator of U.S. competitiveness.

“It’s hard to believe this administration is serious about stopping the alarming decline of U.S. student achievement and competitiveness when it puts the kibosh on federally funded research and access to data,” said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at Arizona State University. “How will policy makers and educators know the bright spots to replicate and what practices are harmful? How will parents make informed choices? How will teachers know the best ways to teach math and prepare students for the jobs of the future?”

 

 Meanwhile in Washington State, the Seattle Times had this story (with over 600 comments):

Washington’s K-12 schools chief is advising the state’s school districts not to change their diversity, equity and inclusion programs and policies in response to the Trump administration’s recent directive to schools to eliminate “race-based decision-making” from their campuses by the end of the month or jeopardize their federal funding.

A letter from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights gave K-12 schools and colleges until Feb. 28 to stop considering race in “all aspects of student, academic and campus life.”Federal dollars comprise only 7% of Washington state’s total K-12 education budget: about $258 million for special education, $288 million for low-income students, and more for school feeding and grant programs.

The State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Chris Reykdal says this:

Washington state Superintendent Chris Reykdal said in a statement Thursday that letters like the one Trainor sent, referred to as a “Dear Colleague” letter, “do not hold the power of law.”

He said his office is working with the state attorney general and considering legal action if the federal government attempts to freeze or recoup funds from the state’s K-12 schools based on Trainor’s letter.

 Since 1998, state law has barred discrimination or preferential treatment in public education to any person or group based on race, sex, color, ethnicity and national origin. In Washington, more than half of public K-12 and college students are people of color.

“While the words have unfortunately been weaponized, diversity, equity, and inclusion have long been core components of our educational system,” Reykdal said. “These principles are the reason we provide a high-quality public education to all young people from all backgrounds and walks of life.

Response?

 In a statement Wednesday, before Reykdal issued his latest statement, Tacoma Public Schools said the district has an “obligation to follow the law.” 

“It is disheartening that we are in this position today, trapped between direction from (the) federal government and existing state laws that appear contradictory,” the statement read.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the University of Washington wrote that it “does not view diversity and access as being in opposition to merit and excellence” and that the institution “will not take any preemptive actions at this time” but awaits further guidance from the Education Department. 

The stakes are high for Washington’s 34 state community and technical colleges. The system serves roughly 250,000 students a year, 53% of whom identify as students of color. Spending tied to federal appropriations for the system most recently totaled $360 million, encompassing financial aid, student loans and the U.S. Department of Education’s TRIO Programs, designed to “identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.”