Project 2025: Elimination of the Department of Education
A step toward the balkanization of America
Project 2025- Summary of Chapter 11: Department of Education elimination
Chapter 11 (pages 319-361) of the 2025 Mandate for Leadership focuses on the Department of Education and is authored by Lindsey M. Burke, a leading advocate of replacing public schools with private for profit schools. The document outlines a reactionary agenda that calls for the elimination of the Department of Education and the transfer of educational decision-making to the states and local authorities with the elimination of public education and the privatization of elementary and secondary education as the eventual goal.
Key proposals include:
Elimination of the Department of Education: The chapter argues that federal intervention has failed to improve student outcomes despite significant spending. It suggests that control over education policy and funding should be returned to states and local governments and private industry.
Education Savings Accounts: A major proposal is the widespread implementation of Education Savings Accounts, which would require parents to direct public funding toward the educational options of their choice, such as private schools, tutoring, or homeschooling leading eventually to the virtual elimination of free public education.
School Choice and Deregulation: The document promotes school “choice” through vouchers, charter schools, and reducing regulations on these institutions. It criticizes the federal government’s role in adding bureaucratic ‘red tape’ that hinders education reform. It would leave it up to individual parents to figure out where to send their kids.
Transfer of Federal Programs: Many federal education programs, such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (often referred to as Title I) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, would be shifted to other departments, like the Department of Health and Human Services, or block-granted to states for management without federal oversight.
Scaling Back Federal Oversight in Higher Education: The chapter proposes reducing federal student aid, pushing for private-sector involvement in student loans, and eliminating regulations that promote diversity and inclusion in higher education institutions which will lead to a divergence in opportunity between the wealthy and the not wealthy.
Critique of Equity and Civil Rights Policies: The document criticizes federal policies related to gender identity, critical race theory (Critical Race Theory is a framework that seeks to understand how racism is embedded in legal systems and societal structures. Its goal is to challenge and dismantle systemic inequalities, while its critics argue that it can be divisive or too focused on identity and race. It is not taught at the high school or elementary school level but in law schools. ), and civil rights enforcement in schools, particularly the Biden administration's approach to Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination.
A Critique:
Undermining Federal Support for Equal Education: Eliminating the Department of Education would worsen inequality in the U.S. education system. Programs like the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Title I) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act play critical roles in ensuring that students from moderate or low-income families and students with disabilities receive the resources they need. Without federal oversight, many disadvantaged students could be left without adequate support.
Widening Inequality Through School Choice: The chapter’s emphasis on ‘Education Savings Accounts’ and vouchers will increase the divide between wealthy and low-income families. Wealthier families would likely be able to supplement the funding from Education Savings Accounts for private education, while lower-income families may not have the same options, leading to further segregation and inequality in educational outcomes.
Lack of National Standards: The push for state autonomy overlooks the importance of national standards in ensuring that all students, regardless of where they live, receive a quality education. Without federal oversight, disparities between states in curriculum, teacher quality, and student achievement will grow, undermining efforts to prepare students for a competitive, global economy.
Rolling Back Civil Rights Protections: The document’s stance on reversing gender and racial equity policies, including Title IX protections for transgender students, reflects a broader attempt to dismantle civil rights progress in education. These protections are essential to preventing discrimination and ensuring that all students are treated fairly in schools.
Privatization of Education: Advocating for the privatization of student loans and reducing federal support for higher education risks making college less accessible to low-income and minority students. Federal student aid programs, like the Pell Grant, have been essential in expanding access to higher education, and replacing them with market-driven alternatives will result in higher costs and fewer protections for students.
Long-Term Consequences of Eliminating Federal Investment: The chapter minimizes the importance of federal investment in education, particularly in areas like early childhood education and workforce development; in spite of the fact that that federal investment is crucial for economic growth, social mobility, and addressing regional inequalities in educational access and quality.
In summary, while the 2025 Mandate for Leadership frames the elimination of the Department of Education as empowering states and families, this approach will result in the eventual elimination of public education increasing inequality, reducing accountability, and reversing progress on civil rights. A strong federal role is necessary to ensure that all students have equal access to quality education and that protections for marginalized communities are upheld. Eliminating the Department of Education and eventually public education in the name of making government smaller is just one more step toward the balkanization of America.
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