more Bibles but fewer resources for poor students

“We will close the Department of Education in Washington, DC, and return it to the states,” says the election platform approved during the Republican convention, a program that also promises to “cut federal funding to any school that promotes critical race theory, radical gender ideologies or other racial, sexual or political content inappropriate for our children”. Instead, he promises to guarantee “freedom to pray” in schools, specifically to “pray and read the Bible,” as well as “to stand up to those who violate the religious freedoms of American students.”

To close the Department of Education, as Trump assures, he would need a supermajority in Congress – which he does not have – and it is not so clear to what extent he will be willing to spend energy in the Capitol to advance this policy when he has other aspects ahead, like the “largest in history” mass deportation, to be resolved. On the other hand, education in fact it is already in the hands of the states. The department in no way dictates the school curriculum or intervenes in most school policies, which are up to the states. 90% of the funding is also provided by the states themselves. An example of this is how Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Waters announced this week that this state is the first “to return the Bible to schools” as a breakthrough against the “radical left” and its alleged indoctrination .

The role played by the Department of Education, however, is important. Especially for students with fewer resources. Included in the 10% of resources that the federal government provides to states to fund education are programs such as Title I, which is part of the federal education law and is intended to serve economically disadvantaged students. The Department of Education also oversees funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), making sure that states receive these funds and use them to serve students with disabilities.

Trump’s best shot at dismantling the Department is to implement budget cuts, and his slim majority in both chambers guarantees him a simple majority, as long as congressmen are obedient. “Much of the aid for very high-poverty students comes from Title I and the Department of Education. If Trump decides to cut Title I, the onus will shift to the states, who will have the problem of having to find the money to serve these students,” says Weadé James, director of education policy at the Center for American Progress (CAP).

“Trump has proposed changing the way this law is funded, and he wants to make IDEA an unconditional grant. That means states could use that money for other things that don’t necessarily benefit students with disabilities,” notes James, who is clear that the crusade against the education department due to cuts will impact all students but “especially poor and disabled students”.

Currently, state revenues are already problematic and “are not generating enough funding to meet educational needs adequately,” notes James. Most schools, moreover, are still counting on aid that the Joe Biden administration approved during the pandemic to mitigate the academic backlog that occurred with covid. The package, known as ESSER (Elementary and Secondary Education Relief Fund), had a budget of $190 billion and the last installment will expire in January 2025. “Once this funding runs out and if Trump applies further cuts in funding and limits the Department of Education, we will see the consequences. Schools will find it even more difficult to make up for this lack of funding and support,” says James.

For the researcher, the impact of these cuts will be “immediate”, although “there will also be a long-term impact, because without these resources and without the oversight of the Department of Education, more students will be left behind. Trump will be in office for four years; therefore, it will be four years of regression.”

Privatization of education

In the midst of funding problems, it’s not just the poorest who stand to lose from Trump’s predicted cuts. The same public education system could end up drifting into a private model. “The Department of Education was created precisely to ensure that public schools could receive funding and ensure equitable access to a quality education for all students. Without federal oversight and governance over public education, if left to responsibility solely to the states, they may say they don’t have the resources to support public schools. This could lead to a privatization model of education,” James reasons. The expert points out that, when the private model existed, most schools were of a religious nature – “founded by Anglicans, Methodists and Catholics” – and not only excluded poor students because of the price, but “they could exclude anyone wanted”.

Trump’s program also says he will defend “universal school choice,” which while Republicans paint it as a battle to defend parental autonomy in choosing their children’s schools, for many members of the educational community is a plan to end the public school. During his first term, Trump already pushed policies aimed at expanding private education, although not all of them succeeded. One of his priorities was to apply tax breaks for donations to organizations that provide scholarships for private schools.

If in this second term Trump begins to apply cuts to the Department of Education, which will worsen the situation of public schools and, on the other hand, bets on a model in which grants or scholarships are approved so that students can go to school they choose, there will be a clear migration towards private or charter schools. However, it would still be problematic for students in rural communities where options are limited. “These towns, which overwhelmingly voted for Trump, include very small rural districts with only one elementary school or high school in the entire town. These communities will be especially hard hit because they don’t have the options that urban or suburban areas can have James muses.

Trump’s penchant for a private, concerted model has been seen especially in Florida, where Congressman Byron Donalds has become a conservative “fighter” within the education field. Earlier this year, Donalds even sounded like a potential vice president for Trump. As a legislator, he has been responsible for defending evangelical Christian values ​​and helped pass state laws banning books on sexuality and gender from schools. Beyond being seen as an influential figure within the charter school movement, it turns out that his wife, Erika Donalds, has opened one in Florida.