American President Donald Trump has initiated plans to lay off over 1,300 employees of the federal sector, the Department of Education.

These plans were announced after prior steps were taken to reduce staff numbers such as buyout offers and firings of probationary employees.

In total, this will leave the federal sector with approximately half of its 4,133 employees it began with.

Background

The Department of Education is a federal sector which was signed into law in 1980 by Jimmy Carter, the president at that time.

This agency has various roles.

Firstly, it provides funding to United States public schooling through avenues such as Title I (part of the Every Student Succeeds Act) which provides funding to schools in low income communities to guarantee impoverished children have the same access to quality education their classmates do.

The sector also provides funding to schools through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act which guarantees disabled children have matching access to education as non-disabled students.

Some examples of this include Individualized Education Programs and 504 plans.

The agency is also in charge of managing financial aid for college and university students, including student loans, work study programs and Pell Grants.

The Department of Education also tracks metrics such as graduation rates, number of admissions, educational success and financial aid acceptance statistics from colleges.

The sector also manages the National Assessment of Educational Progress which provides assessments to students to track their performances in various school subjects.

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The Various Controversies

The existence and necessity of the Department of Education has been a debate for decades between Democrats and Republicans.

Democrats have been a proponent of the agency majorly due to the functions they perform, but Republicans have expressed various concerns over the years.

Their concerns have been in regards to dedication to limited government, local and state control over education (despite the fact states do control their educational curricula), lower governmental spending and decreasing the number of federal workers.

Others have pointed to a lack of increase in student's educational success since the department was enacted.

In recent years, the opposition has also been due to what some have called a "radical agenda" "indoctrinating" students in schools. This is typically in reference to LGBTQI+ inclusive instruction, transgender students playing sports or using locker rooms/restrooms based on gender rather than biological s*x, etc.

Widespread Concerns

Due to the fact the Department of Education manages financial aid, college students have expressed concern over how they will continue their higher education if the agency is dismantled.

When the question was posed to the president at a press conference last month, Trump explained student loans would be "brought into either Treasury or Small Business Administration or Commerce.''

These sectors have never been in charge of financial aid before.

Furthermore, some parents of disabled children with IEPs or 504s have expressed concerns.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act will still stand, but without the accountability and funding of the Department of Education (ED), this may potentially lead to adverse outcomes.

Policy analyst, Carrie Gillispie, explained,

"ED holds states accountable for providing special education according to IDEA in order to receive these federal funds. States vary in terms of how much money they allocate to serving students with disabilities...A key role of ED is to ensure that states use this money accurately and to verify that funding gets to the students who are eligible for special education.''