Donald Trump Calls For Dismantling Education Department. What Does it Mean?

Washington: Throughout his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump heaped scorn on federal Department of Education, describing it as being infiltrated by “ricals, zealots and Marxists”.

He has picked Linda McMahon, a former wrestling executive, to le department. But like many conservative politicians before him, Trump has called for dismantling department altoger — a cumbersome task that likely would require action from Congress .

agency's main role is financial. Annually, it distributes billions in federal money to colleges and schools and manages federal student loan portfolio. Closing department would mean redistributing each of those duties to anor agency. Education Department also plays an important regulatory role in services for students, ranging from those with disabilities to low-income and homeless kids.

Indeed, federal education money is central to Trump's plans for colleges and schools. Trump has vowed to cut off federal money for schools and colleges that push "critical race ory, transgender insanity, and or inappropriate racial, sexual or political content" and to reward states and schools that end teacher tenure and enact universal school choice programmes.

Federal funding makes up a relatively small portion of public school budgets — roughly 14 per cent. Colleges and universities are more reliant on it, through research grants along with federal financial aid that helps students pay ir tuition.

Here is a look at some of department's key functions, and how Trump has said he might approach m.

Student loans and financial aid Education Department manages approximately USD 1.5 trillion in student loan debt for over 40 million borrowers. It also oversees Pell Grant, which provides aid to students below a certain income threshold, and ministers Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which universities use to allocate financial aid.

Biden ministration has me cancellation of student loans a signature effort of department's work. Since Biden's initial attempt to cancel student loans was overturned by Supreme Court, ministration has forgiven over USD 175 billion for more than 4.8 million borrowers through a range of changes to programmes it ministers, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

loan forgiveness efforts have faced Republican pushback, including litigation from several GOP-led states.

Trump has criticized Biden's efforts to cancel debt as illegal and unfair, calling it a “total catastrophe” that “taunted young people”. Trump's plan for student debt is uncertain: He has not put out detailed plans.

Civil rights enforcement Through its Office for Civil Rights, Education Department conducts investigations and issues guidance on how civil rights laws should be applied, such as for LGBTQ+ students and students of colour.

office also oversees a large data collection project that tracks disparities in resources, course access and discipline for students of different racial and socioeconomic groups.

Trump has suggested a different interpretation of office's civil rights role. In his campaign platform, he said he would pursue civil rights cases to “stop schools from discriminating on basis of race".

He has described diversity and equity policies in education as “explicit unlawful discrimination” and said colleges that use m will pay fines and have ir endowments taxed.

Trump also has pledged to exclude transgender students from Title IX protections, which affect school policies on students' use of pronouns, bathrooms and locker rooms. Originally passed in 1972, Title IX was first used as a women's rights law. This year, Biden's ministration said law forbids discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, but Trump can undo that.

College accreditation While Education Department does not directly accredit colleges and universities, it oversees system by reviewing all federally recognised accrediting agencies.

Institutions of higher education must be accredited to gain access to federal money for student financial aid.

Accreditation came under scrutiny from conservatives in 2022, when Sourn Association of Colleges and Schools questioned political interference at Florida public colleges and universities. Trump has said he would fire “rical left accreditors” and take applications for new accreditors that would uphold standards including “defending American trition” and removing “Marxist” diversity ministrators.

Although education secretary has authority to terminate its relationship with individual accrediting agencies, it is an arduous process that has rarely been pursued. Under President Barack Obama, department took steps to cancel accreditors for a now-defunct for-profit college chain, but Trump ministration blocked move. group, Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, was terminated by Biden ministration in 2022.

Money for schools Much of Education Department's money for K-12 schools goes through large federal programs, such as Title I for low-income schools and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Those programmes support services for students with disabilities, lower class sizes with ditional teaching positions, and pay for social workers and or non-teaching roles in schools.

During his campaign, Trump called for shifting those functions to states. He has not offered details on how agency's core functions of sending federal money to local districts and schools would be handled.

Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, a sweeping proposal outlining a far-right vision for country that overlaps in areas with Trump's campaign, offers a blueprint. It suggests sending oversight of programmes for kids with disabilities and low-income children first to Department of Health and Human Services, before eventually phasing out funding and converting it to no-strings-attached grants to states. 

(Except heline, this story is not edited by Republic and is published from a syndicated feed)