What's Education Got to Do With It? Warning, this WILL have some opinion feels!

And so, here we are.  He has plans to "do away with" the Department of Education. It isn't like we weren't warned.  He said he was going to do it, and now he's looking for a way to fulfill his promise to the American people to "downsize the government" and save the people a gazillion dollars.  Since we all know education is, essentially, a state responsibility why not?  Let me tell you why not. Please bear with this veteran educator of over 50 years as I share the story of why the Dept. of Ed. came about and what the demise will (not may) mean to you.

"Even before the Constitution of the United States was established, the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 included responsibilities of the nation for an education system". "During the first century of the new nation, Congress granted more than 77 million acres of the public domain as an endowment for the support of schools through tracts ceded to the states for the support of public schools". In 1867 the Office of Education was established by congress to collect information on schools and teaching that would help states establish effective school systems, but in 1868 because of objections by the states the office was downgraded to become part of the Department of the Interior.  In the 1930s the New Deal funded educational activities including school construction and repairs, the hiring of teachers, loans to school districts, and grants to rural schools. In 1953 the Office of Education moved to the new Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) where it remained until the establishment of the Department of Education in 1979.

The vast majority of my school years were during the 1960s, a very turbulent time and a quickly changing world.  As part of that change federal officials recognized that there was very little equity in the way education was delivered across the United States.  As part of that recognition in 1964 the Civil Rights Act authorized the federal government to aid schools and higher education institutions to deal with problems related to desegregation. No longer was separate but equal an acceptable, President Johnson had declared a war on poverty and in 1965 Title I became the major focus of educational improvement especially for children experiencing poverty.

Today, Title I is the largest federal subsidy program for K–12 education. The Department of Education oversees the administration of PELL grants, Title IX which bars gender discrimination, work study programs. The Department funds pre-school programs, special Education programs, helps children with disabilities, supports education for Native American tribes, funds teacher training programs, funds education for orphans, helps education migrants, funds charter schools, funds schools in distressed neighborhoods. It acts as a cornerstone for fair and consistent educational standards nationwide. It ensures that every child, no matter their background or where they live, has access to quality education and opportunities to succeed. The department helps bridge gaps by distributing crucial funding, supporting students with disabilities, and enforcing laws that protect against discrimination. 

As a life long educator I have seen the U.S. Department of Education insist on the recognition that we are a diverse population coming from all over the globe and our students deserve to be treated with dignity.  I understand that equity does not mean everybody gets the same thing, but they do have the same chance to reach for it.  I have seen exclusion first hand and the pain and indignity it causes.  I know what it means to be excluded and told "you have no right to be here".  I have been both frustrated by the rules and eternally grateful for the resources the Department of Education provides for our rural students, college students, students of color, LGBTQI kids, women, young men, hungry children, teachers, parents and communities.

When this department is dismantled (and I believe in some form or fashion it will be) as communities of learning we will be fractured.  My special education students for whom I fought so hard, students the current President has mocked and degraded, will once again be told they aren't good enough. When private schools are allowed to pick and choose who is worthy to attend school with whom we will become a more segregated society of haves and have-nots than we have ever been.  The programs will be spread out across other agencies and will no longer be a priority.  Funding will be cut and those states who have relied on the financial support will cut more programs and more opportunities for the poor and disenfranchised.  Student achievement will decline and all of us will suffer the effects.  

I have been the lucky one, and I know it. I grew up and I taught when we were encouraged to give everyone a fighting chance to succeed.  I griped and moaned about a lot of things, but I was encouraged to find new ways to use federal money to enhance the educational opportunities of my students.  I was told and taught that recognizing diversity in the classroom and learning to love the unique qualities that every child and every culture brought made all of us better global citizens.  I know my students with autism, learning disabilities, intellectual deficits, who are blind and deaf, who have medical fragility and downs syndrome are some of the most amazing and contributory people I know.  

The Department of Education has a purpose, it has a job to do.  So do you.  Thank you for reading.