Tag Archives: Department of Education

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Yes, This is Bad

Dismantling the Department of Education will have devastating impacts

Gov. Bill Lee yesterday celebrated Donald Trump’s “executive order” to dismantle and effectively end the U.S. Department of Education.

Unsurprisingly, the same Governor who relentlessly pushed to destroy public education in Tennessee through a costly and ineffective school voucher scheme also supports this latest very bad idea.

Here’s a bit of what I wrote about it over at The Education Report:

In short: This will be bad. All of it. The end of the Department of Education. The end of public school. The advent of “free market, choose your own adventure” education.

The end result: an exacerbation of income-based inequality. Or, the dream scenario of Project 2025.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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On the Harms of Dismantling the Dept. of Education

TN pastors speak out

While President Trump and his unelected advisor Elon Musk work diligently to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, some pastors in Tennessee on speaking out. The Southern Christian Coalition says the Musk-Trump dismantling will harm Tennessee students and schools.

Pastor Joy Warren, a Cumberland Presbyterian Minister in Murfreesboro, said:

“I know it’s getting exhausting to keep up with all the ways that President Trump and his administration are trying to harm our communities. But I know without a doubt we absolutely must continue speaking up for those under attack in our communities, including children! The firing of half of the Department of Education is just another way to take resources from our children in order to give tax breaks to his billionaire friends.”

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Republicans Confused Over Dept. of Ed

They love to rail against but also appreciate the federal dollars flowing to their states

Even as President Trump moves forward with plans to weaken and, ultimately, dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, Republicans appear conflicted.

NPR notes that at a recent hearing, the conversation turned to explaining the key functions of the DoE:

The Department of Education has two main jobs, in addition to managing the federal student loan system: It protects students’ civil rights and sends money to schools that need it most. But, just as the department doesn’t control classrooms, it doesn’t control budgets either.

Schools tend to receive about 10% of their total budget from the federal government. The rest comes from state and local sources. Yes, that 10% makes a huge difference – schools don’t just have tons of money lying around. And, yes, if the Department shuts down, how that money is spent or allocated could change – or, there could be less overall allocation if left to the states or integrated into state funding formulas.

So, Republican lawmakers face a conundrum – join their party’s leader in bashing and trashing the Department OR stand up for the DoE and the funds and protections it brings to schools in their states.

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Trump, Musk, and Testing

Will the oligarchy kill the NAEP?

The Trump Administration may end up killing the gold standard of standardized testing – the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Peter Greene reports on the DOGE destruction at the Department of Education, including cutting off the arms that collect and analyze data:

“The U.S. Department of Education has decided not to fund the NAEP 2024-2025 Long-Term Trend Age 17 assessment,” Marcie Hickman, project director of the NAEP Support and Service Center, said in an email to state officials. “All field operations and activities will end today, February 19, 2025.”

What has actually been canceled at this point is the test for 17-year-olds that was supposed to happen in the near future. Nobody seems to really know whether this cancellation will also affect all other future NAEP testing, but since Musk has gutted financing for the Institute of Education Sciences, the data wing of the education department, it sure doesn’t look good.

Will the era of big testing finally come to an end? It’s not clear – because, well, nothing about what’s happening at the federal level is particularly clear right now.

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The Impact of the End

When the Dept of Ed dies or is decimated, here’s what could happen

An analysis out of Arizona demonstrates what’s at stake as President Musk and his associate, Trump, move forward with dismantling the federal Department of Education:

Now, Save Our Schools Arizona is offering an analysis of the potential impacts there. Again, as much as $1 billion could be impacted – and, to be clear, even if the final number lost is only a fraction of that amount, it will have real consequences for students and schools in the state.

TN also gets a nice share of cash from the feds. And sure, some of that money may be “block granted” to the states. But taking away a couple hundred million dollars is not a great way to help schools that are already under-resourced.

bitcoins and u s dollar bills
Photo by David McBee on Pexels.com

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