President Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency have declared war on the U.S. Department of Education, dismissing it as a “con job” and calling for its dismantling. There’s no doubt that inefficiencies exist in government, but eliminating the department altogether isn’t reform — it’s a reckless gamble with the future of millions of children.
At the heart of this attack is the idea that federal education programs — especially those focused on diversity, equity and inclusion — are unnecessary. But this framing ignores the real issue: federal education funding isn’t about political buzzwords. It’s about ensuring that every child, no matter where they live or how much their parents earn, has a fair shot at a quality education.
For decades, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act has helped level the playing field, sending federal dollars to schools in low-income communities that lack local resources. Without this support, children in underfunded districts will be left behind, stuck in overcrowded classrooms with outdated textbooks and too few teachers to give them the attention they deserve.
This issue isn’t about ideology. It’s about fairness.
Other legislation executed by the Department of Education focuses on our most vulnerable children. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, passed in 1975, guarantees that students with disabilities receive the support they need to learn alongside their peers. Federal funding helps schools provide speech therapy, assistive technology and specialized instruction for children who would otherwise be pushed to the margins. Slashing this funding sends a message: that these students don’t matter.
Perhaps the most devastating move is the gutting of the Institute for Education Sciences and its statistical branch, the National Center for Education Statistics — the backbone of education research in this country. These agencies don’t deal in politics; they deal in facts. They provide data on which states have the highest testing scores on our only national test. They fund research on trends in student outcomes, understanding which innovations work with struggling readers and which do not, and how our bilingual students fare after they exit an English learning program.
Without them, education policy will be based on guesswork instead of evidence.
As an example, the elimination of What Works Clearinghouse means that schools will no longer have an unbiased source to evaluate curriculum, textbooks and learning programs. Without WWC, districts will have to rely on flashy marketing brochures rather than independent research. Schools will waste money on ineffective programs, and students will pay the price.
Make no mistake: these cuts will not just hurt bureaucrats in Washington. They will hurt children, families, and teachers in every corner of this country, including those in Kansas. Parents will lose access to vital information about their schools. Teachers will be left without the latest research on how to help struggling students. And students with disabilities will be denied the tools they need to succeed.
Yes, cut the fat. But don’t bring a chainsaw to education. Once these programs are gone, rebuilding them will take decades — while an entire generation of students is left behind.
Marianne Perie is the former director of the Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation at the University of Kansas. After working in the field of educational measurement for 30 years, she now runs a private consulting firm in Stilwell. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
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