In an editorial, Jersey City resident Gerald Miller explains why he feels slashing U.S. Department of Education funds hurts those who most need them.
President Donald Trump has targeted the Department of Education for elimination. Secretary Linda McMahon slashed its staff by about 50%, effectively shuttering the agency and gutting its ability to support public schools.
Cutting this Department rips funding away from families who need it the most.
Children with disabilities and children from low-income families will lose special education services. Class sizes will increase.
Job training programs will be reduced. Higher education—and the opportunities it makes possible—will be pushed out of reach for many people as tuition assistance becomes harder to get.
Civil rights protections for children with disabilities will vanish, leaving disabled students vulnerable to discrimination without recourse.
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed a bill that created the Department of Education. The Education Department sends federal money to public schools, administers college financial aid, and manages federal student loans.
It also ensures that all Americans have equal access to education, such as students with disabilities.
The smallest cabinet-level agency, the Department of Education accounts for only about four per cent of overall federal spending. Its budget goes primarily to educational programs and student loans.
Cutting the Department means there will be far fewer staff members to pursue the 12,000 pending federal investigations, roughly half of which involve disability issues.
It will also hamper the efforts of those who review and distribute government-funded research to educate children with autism or severe intellectual disabilities.
Educating students with disabilities, and children whose first language is not English, requires specialized teaching and often smaller classes.
In 2022–23, 7.5 million students ages 3–21 received special education and/or related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This is equivalent to 15 percent of all public-school students.
As of December 13, 2024, Jersey City received $8,508,129 for special education and/or related services.
Jersey City Schools received $15,218,974 in Title I federal funds, allocated to schools with high concentrations of low-income students. Nearly eight percent of our school budget has come from the federal government.
Dismantling the Education Department will also have a devastating impact on college students in Hudson County.
In 2022, 92% of undergraduate students attending Hudson County Community College received financial aid through grants. These students, from low and middle-class families, will have increased difficulty covering the increasing college and university costs.
Diverting billions from education to pay for tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy is a callous decision that will immediately impact the neediest. But it shortchanges us all.
Trump claims to be making American great again. But to do so, the federal government should be spending more –not less– to provide the youngest generation of Americans with the best educational opportunities possible.
Gerald Miller lives in Jersey City, where he is a member of KnittyGrittyJC, a local pro-democracy organization.