Could get rid the Department of Education solve America's public
education problem, real or imaginary?
"One of the Education Department’s biggest footprints nationally is as a distributor of federal funds. Drawing from its roughly $80 billion
budget, it sends billions to state and local school systems every year, especially to poorer districts, via the Title I program, which aims to
provide equal education through teacher training, instructional
material, and enrichment programs. The department also provides billions
in financial aid—both through programs like Pell Grants and, since 2010,
by making student loans directly to borrowers—and it runs FAFSA, the
widely used mechanism for student financial-aid requests. (Less than 5
percent of the federal budget goes to education.)
The Education Department also enforces rules around civil rights—most
notably through Title IX, which prevents discrimination in federally
funded education on the basis of sex and has been interpreted to govern
issues including equality in athletics programs and how schools handle
sexual harassment and sexual violence. President Joe Biden also expanded protections for transgender students by issuing rules through the
department banning discrimination “based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics in federally funded education
programs.” These powers have made the department a major target for conservatives. (The Trump administration promptly withdrew Biden’s
rules.)
..
Some of the president’s allies have been more specific about their
plans. Project 2025, for example, wants to dismantle the Education
Department as well. The document suggests that the government could
simply distribute education funding to states to use as they see fit,
with no conditions.
..
Other conservative priorities, such as shutting down diversity programs, probing and punishing anti-Semitism on campuses, and attacking
affirmative action in admissions, are being run through the Education Department. These functions could be shifted elsewhere, including to the Justice Department, but Trump is still actively pursuing them."
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/02/what-does-the-department-of-education-actually-do/681597/
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