The importance of the Dept. of Ed

As the slogan of The United Negro College Fund states, “a mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a wonderful thing to invest in.”

And so is the Department of Education.

There is a reason why every prominent Republican who has called for an end to the U.S. Department of Education over the last few decades (mostly) has backed off from that goal. The federal department stands as the linchpin of underwriting research and university tuitions which underpin the United States’ status as the foremost leader in higher education in the world.

Moreover, while the DOE’s average funding for primary and secondary education constitutes only a small part of the budgets of local school boards, these monies play an invaluable role in the lives of disadvantaged children and those without a fixed home address.

Frankly, if Donald Trump abolished it, he would have to re-create 90 percent of what the U.S. Department of Education does elsewhere. Last time our editors checked, two-thirds of Republicans actively support the continuance of the school loans, post-graduate scientific research funding and educational certification. There are not many Americans – anywhere, of any political ideology – who are unconcerned about children living on the street who, by corollary, are not getting an education. Nor are there many people who refuse to believe our government should allocate extra resources for those who are physically disabled – so that these children remain able to have the same opportunities as those who do not endure a disability.

There is a reason that only 29 percent of Americans seek the abolishment of the Department of Education, and why former Bush staffers worry “No Child Left Behind” reforms will cease to exist, giving parents no statistical idea of how their schools perform nationally or whether their children are actually learning the material. In 2001, George W. Bush faced down GOP calls to abolish the Department of Education, noting that the small bit of funding that it gives elementary and high school students could also be the carrot to improve educational outcomes. It worked. Barack Obama followed up on this accountability strategy with his “Every Student Succeeds Act.”

Abolish the U.S. Department of Education, and, Mr. President, you just don’t hurt universities who depend upon research funding and school loans, you also devastate struggling children in marginal schools who depend on those standards being upheld and desperately need that funding for extra help for the disadvantaged.

This article originally published in the March 10, 2025 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.