The federal administration is drastically reducing and trying to shut down the Department of Education, a move that should concern us LGBTQ parents along with all others. Let’s look at what the repercussions could be and what we can do.
The Situation
Broadly speaking, the DoEd ensures federal oversight of civil rights in education; manages grants for programs that support low-income students, those with disabilities, and others in need of extra supports; and administers federal student loan programs. The president, however, issued an executive order last Thursday instructing the secretary of education to close the Department of Education (DoEd) and return authority to states and local communities. HRC (among others) has called this “an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers.” Only Congress has the authority to create and to dissolve government departments and agencies.
Even if it cannot close the DoEd entirely, though, the administration is still trying to decimate it, firing more than 1,300 staff in the department earlier this month, including nearly half of the Office for Civil Rights and 300 in the Federal Student Aid office. It also tried to cut $600 million in grants to train, place, and support teachers in underserved schools, although a federal judge has ordered that some of the grants be restored.
The Impact
The full or partial dissolution of the DoEd would negatively impact, among others:
- Students with disabilities. A total of 7.5 million students (15% of public school students) receive individualized education services through programs created by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and administered by the DoEd.
- Low-income students. Nearly two-thirds of all public schools receive Title I funding.
- Students with marginalized identities, including LGBTQ students and those with LGBTQ parents. Civil rights protections in public schools are administered by the DoEd. The DoEd also administers programs for students still learning English.
- Many more students. Schools across the country rely on educational supports funded by discretionary grant programs, explains thinktank The Century Foundation (TCF). These supports include early literacy programs, enrichment offerings, and teacher development. Federal grants also support school technology, before- and after-school programs, and charter and magnet schools.
Without the DoEd, even if funds for the abovementioned programs remain and civil rights protections stay on the books (both open questions), there will be less oversight of how they are implemented, as the AP explains.
In higher education, TCF notes, the DoEd’s largest function is “grantmaking and lending in service of college access and affordability.” Almost 30% of U.S. college students rely on federal loans to pay their tuition. Eliminating the DoEd’s role “risks widening college access gaps and leaving low-income students without a pathway to college,” while “Upheaval in student loan management will push borrowers into default” and “Students and colleges would suffer from weakened protections and increased chaos and confusion.”
Additionally, TCF asserts, “Students and colleges would have fewer safeguards from ideological crusades…. While the administration suggests that it wants a smaller federal role in higher education, it has also stated intentions for the federal government to get more involved in academic topics, such as whether colleges teach topics such as critical race theory.” On the K-12 level, the federal administration has already said it will halt federal funding for K-12 schools that promote “gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology,” which has led to some schools removing materials reflecting LGBTQ, Black, and other marginalized identities.
While the president has said that programs such as Pell Grants, Title I funding, and programs for students with disabilities will be “preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and departments,” per The Hill, TCF observes that “moving these vital roles to other agencies that do not have the expertise or experience of the department would create numerous challenges and would put students, student borrowers, schools, and taxpayers at risk.”
On Friday, the president said that various DoEd “special needs” programs (presumably meaning programs under IDEA and others), would be moved to the Department of Health and Human Services, headed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy has (among other unscientific assertions) repeated or refused to reject unfounded claims about autism. The DoEd’s student loan portfolio would be moved to the Small Business Administration (SBA), headed by former U.S. senator and business executive Kelly Loeffler. Loeffler had also been co-owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, but sold her stake in 2021 under pressure from players after Loeffler opposed the league’s support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, executive director of GLSEN, which champions LGBTQ issues in K-12 education, summarized on Instagram that “Bulldozing the Education Department will leave marginalized children unprotected, schools underfunded, and fewer youth with the opportunity to succeed in America. Reducing civil rights enforcement in schools will leave an increasingly diverse student population with fewer remedies, taking away tools that schools need to grapple with worsening absenteeism, diminished academic success, and youth mental health.”
I also think that a shattered DoEd would lead to greater disparities between states, since different states would be more or less able to support their students in its absence.
None of this is to say that the DoEd was previously perfect; every government department and agency can always find ways to improve its processes and services. That’s not a reason to dismantle the whole thing with minimal planning or consideration of the implications, however.
What You Can Do
The NAACP and the National Education Association are already preparing to sue the administration over its attempt to dismantle the DoEd. Here are a few things the rest of us can do:
- Contact our elected representatives regularly by phone, email, and letter, and tell them to preserve the Department of Education for our students.
- Organize and/or participate in local “walk-ins” and other events in support of our students and strong public schools.
- Continue to educate ourselves about the situation and what we can do. One event that may be helpful is an upcoming webinar hosted by the Red Wine & Blue Education Fund: “It’s Go Time: How to Fight for the Department of Education,” with educator Sharon McMahon, on Thursday, April 3, 2025, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET.
- Follow organizations like the National Education Association, MomsRising, Red Wine & Blue, and GLSEN for additional information, actions, and resources.