Education
Funding cuts could increase class sizes, reduce support for low-income students, and impact electives and extracurricular activities.
The U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images
As uncertainty looms over the future of the Department of Education, school administrators across the state are bracing for impact. With budget season in full swing, many are preparing for deep cuts to crucial programs like special education and Title 1 services for low-income students.
The concerns follow the recent confirmation of Linda McMahon to lead the DOE. She recently called the department’s overhaul in a speech a “final mission.”
In her speech, McMahon said she aims to cut red tape; empower parents to make better educational choices; prioritize core subjects like math, reading, science, and history over DEI initiatives; and align post-secondary education with high-paying job opportunities.
But, what President Donald Trump’s administration’s proposed actions mean for schools in Massachusetts is another thing.
In response to McMahon’s confirmation, Gov. Maura Healey said that dismantling the DOE would mean that Massachusetts schools would lose $2 billion in federal funding for schools.
Healey said the funding cuts would result in larger class sizes, fewer reading specialists, and less support for students with an individualized education program. They would also mean less funding for poorer and rural school districts and the end of after-school programs.
“What Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Linda McMahon are doing is bad for children, bad for schools, and bad for our communities,” Healey said in a statement. “Congress cannot let this happen.”
Abolishing the DOE
Dismantling the DOE has been on the Republican wishlist since its inception in 1979, when President Jimmy Carter persuaded Congress to pass legislation to create it. Ronald Reagan ran on the platform of eliminating it in 1980.
However, there has never been enough support in the legislature to dismantle the department.
“It’s something that Trump can’t do unilaterally,” said Todd Gazda, the executive director of Collaborative for Educational Services. “But what he can do is start peeling stuff off the Department of Education, leaving it a shell.”
Paul Reville, the Francis Keppel Professor of Practice of Educational Policy and Administration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, notes that the federal government doesn’t have a clear role in education. He added that the Constitution doesn’t even mention it.
However, Reville said Congress created the DOE. Therefore, “it can only be eliminated by Congress.”
“So, they may gut it in terms of personnel, poor capacity – which on one hand would fulfill some of their objectives, but on the other hand gives them fewer people to implement their education agenda,” he said.
Impact of federal funding leaves uncertainty for Mass schools
Even if abolishing the department is impossible, it could still significantly impact local funding, particularly for special education through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and low-income students through Title I grants.