On Jan. 20, during President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Trump made many bold claims; among these is his plan to dismantle the Department of Education. Although this may seem new, politicians have campaigned against the department since its creation in 1979. Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan campaigned on dismantling the department in 1980 with policies designed to return its funding and power to the states. Similarly, in 1996, the Republican party platform endorsed a party policy of complete DoE removal.

More recently, the department has been under fire with H.R. 899 and a pending executive order that would result in the department’s termination. In defense of axing the DoE, Trump claimed the department had been “indoctrinating young people with inappropriate racial, sexual and political material.” To members of public school communities, the issues with his statement are apparent — ideas taught in schools are important public knowledge, including the racial, sexual and political material. In fact, the DoE only sets broad standards for what should be taught, so states and local districts create the vast majority of the curriculum.

The rhetoric surrounding indoctrination of children is often parroted without understanding what the DoE actually does. The DoE is mainly focused on ensuring American students receive a quality education by managing and distributing federal funds nationwide to schools and students. In 2024, Iowa received an estimated $1.7 billion dollars from the department out of its total $4.6 billion allocated to public education. The DoE also accounts for the rising inflation when providing funding; in 2023, Iowa increased its public education spending by 3%, compared to an inflation rate of 4.1% that year.

Since it’s clear that removing the department without a replacement would severely hurt public schooling, most proposals would instead authorize state governments to allocate similar amounts of funding as they see fit. However, trusting states to allocate these funds could cause problems. Iowa recently joined nine other states in allowing private schools to receive public funding, and in 2023, Iowa passed the Students First Act, which allows parents to redirect their child’s public education state funding to private schools. During the 2023-24 school year, $218 million was reallocated to private schools based on student vouchers. This harms all public schools, especially those in low-income areas that generate less property taxes — the primary way schools are locally funded.

Aside from its voucher program, the state has also received backlash for its appointment of McKenzie Snow as the director of Iowa’s Department of Education, mainly motivated by her overall lack of experience within classrooms. Because of Snow’s inexperience, a nationwide education standard is crucial to ensure students receive proper education everywhere, no matter the states’ leadership.

Aside from funding, the DoE is necessary to ensure disabled students are treated fairly in schools. The department is responsible for creating and supporting students with disability plans, such as 504 plans and Individualized Education Programs or IEPs. It also aids disabled students through grants that encourage schools to hire more staff or pay for supplemental training.

Although the DoE shrinking may be inevitable, congressional approval is required for removal, but with thin margins in both chambers of Congress, it’s unlikely that the department will be dismantled. However, the department’s funding relies upon congressional representatives, and it shouldn’t be the sole responsibility for states to support public schools. If we want funding for our school, we need to contact our representatives to tell them we need the Department of Education. Iowa representatives need to know that we want our communities funded, not pushed to the back burner.

Representative contact information:

Chuck Grassley:
(202) 224-3744

Joni Ernst:
(202) 224-3254

Mariannette Miller Meeks:
(202) 225-6576