DOE shutdown could cut support services at Aquinas

By Gionna Bean, Opinion Editor

Statue of Saint Thomas Aquinas – Photo by Ashlyn Armock

On Thursday, March 20, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at shutting down the United States Department of Education (DOE)– a move that could impact multiple components of life on Aquinas campus and in schools nationwide.

Created by Congress in 1979, the DOE has been largely opposed by right-wing activists for years. It oversees the majority of federal education assistance programs, enforces anti-discrimination laws and allocates funding to schools for serving low-income students and those with disabilities. Despite its reach and influence, the department has faced long-standing opposition from those who view it as inefficient and overly bureaucratic. The Trump administration has echoed these criticisms and is taking steps to dismantle the DOE completely.

Although the DOE currently operates under federal authority, the Trump administration intends to transfer its responsibilities to individual states. The ultimate decision will rest with Education Secretary Linda McMahon. In an interview with Scripps News, McMahon explained how the process of dismantling has been going. “[I’m] working with governors, across the country, working with superintendents of schools, to just talk about what’s best practices to help, help them with tools that they will need to do that,” McMahon said. “At the same time looking at where the actual work of the Department of Education will be best handled.”

For some, this move presents an opportunity for more localized control. “As I understand it, the Department of Education works at a federal level to provide grants and scholarships,” education major sophomore Noah Morris said. “I personally wish that the money would be allocated to the states to do with that as they wish on a state educational level.”

Dean of Education Sister Justine Kane, Ph.D., believes that the move to put education back in the hands of the states is redundant. “Education in the US has always been local,” Sr. Kane said. “Public school districts are primarily funded by state and local taxes, and decisions made about what is taught and who is qualified to teach in state schools are made by each state.”

According to Sr. Kane, the most significant impact of dismantling the DOE will be felt by the most vulnerable students—those with disabilities, children in underserved communities, students experiencing homelessness and English language learners.

“It will get rid of IEPs, 504s—just any extended plans for students with special needs,” sophomore Ella Binning said. “Then too, if they have already shut down the Department of Education, what could it be in the next four years?”

Losing the DOE would mean an end to programs including TRIO SSS, which provides financial and academic support to low-income students, first-generation students and students with disabilities, due to a lack of federal funding. At Aquinas, TRIO SSS offers scholarships and grants that many students depend on. “I technically qualify for SSS TRIO benefits, and I don’t understand why people would be okay with shutting down programs such as this one when it benefits so many students,” junior Madeline Meeter said.

The ripple effects of this decision could be felt as soon as fall semester. As for what jobs in education will look like in the future, National Education Association President Becky Pringle made a statement that there will be larger class sizes, less resources for vulnerable students, fewer education services for students with disabilities and less civil rights protections if the DOE is dismantled.

While the full impact remains uncertain, the decision to dismantle the DOE could usher in a dramatic transformation in how American education is funded, supported, and delivered, including here at Aquinas College.