NBC News has a story today about state education officials living in fear that President Trump will eliminate the US Department of Education (US ED). “States brace for Trump’s plans to dismantle the Education Department,” the headline intones.
Fear not: Plans to end US ED do not spell doom.
As I explain in this one-pager for states, to the extent that we have seen concrete plans for what to do with US ED—we are still awaiting the Trump proposal —it has been to move the department’s functions to various other departments where they make sense to be, such as civil rights enforcement to the Department of Justice and student loan management to the Treasury Department. And big spending cuts are likely not to be in the offing, as secretary-nominee Linda McMahon indicated during her confirmation hearing.
That said, any cut to federal spending would not be especially big. While the federal share of public elementary and secondary school revenue goes up and down from year to year, over the past roughly five decades, it has averaged only about 9 percent of the total. And remember, federal money comes from taxpayers who live in states and districts. If they keep their money, it will be there for state, local, or personal use. Or to help reduce our truly frightening $36.5 trillion national debt.
So let’s keep our heads about us. Plans to end US ED are not plans to end education … at all.