If Trump follows through with his education proposals, if the Republican-controlled Congress lets him do it, America’s students and teachers are in for a world of hurt.
Mercedes Schneider writes here about what’s at stake. I did not copy and paste the article in full. It is excellent. I urge you to open the link.
I do not believe American education is a top concern for Donald Trump. I do believe that he could well turn it over to the likes of the Heritage Foundation and their Project 2025, so long as nobody outshines him in the press and puts anything (Constitution included) ahead of loyalty to him above all else.
So, when ABC News reports that Trump’s Agenda 47 as though the Heritage Foundation has not already done most of Trump’s homework for him, well, that fashions Trump’s interest in a number of issues as though it is something more than just letting those extreme-right-leaners who really care about that stuff have at.
Now that the election is over, Trump allies are openly admitting that Project 2025 was the Trump plan all along.
One featured Project 2025-Trump issue is the proposed dismantling of the US Department of Education (USDOE), which was created during the Carter administration. Talk of getting rid of USDOE began with the Reagan administration(in other words, soon after it was created). It should come as no surprise that in 1980, the “fledgling” Heritage Foundation was in Reagan’s ear and is proud to declare as much in the opening pages of its Project 2025:
Several decades later, USDOE still exists, and several decades later, the Heritage Foundation is still trying to kill it.
Heritage et al. has taken great pains to outline its 900+-page wish list of ultra conservatism, including nixing USDOE. However, it would take a lot to achieve the kind of legislative unity required to dissolve a federal department that supports numerous Americans in desired and positive ways, not the least of which is via the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
Brookings offers a concise discussion of the Project 2025 plan for education, including this “sample list” of negative consequences:
No surprise that Heritage wants school vouchers for all, a notably unpopular concept at the 2024 ballot box:
Of course, the key is to have legislatures jump onto the choice bandwagon and force choice onto voters whether they want it or not. But some voters do benefit from having access to publicly-subsidized private schools: Those with money. Heritage alludes to Arizona’s “expanded program… available to all families. However, in Arizona, those accessing school voucher cash tend not to be the working class but more affluent families.
Speaking of the affluent and private school vouchers: Billionaire former US Ed secretary Betsy DeVos, who in 2023 could not get private school vouchers over the line in her home state of Michigan, apparently smells opportunity.
On January 07, 2024, DeVos resigned as Trump’s US ed sec. In her resignation letter, DeVos placed the fault of January 06, 2024, chaos squarely on Trump:
In a November 07. 2024, interview with EdWeek about advice for Trump’s next Ed sec, , DeVos is fact checked as she tries to put lack of a school choice “big moment” at the feet of the Democrats. Not so, Betsy:
During Trump’s first term, DeVos’ inability to push private school choice to her liking has to be attributed in part to some Republican resistance to the idea. Heritage and any Heritage-sympathetic ed sec could well face similar issues in Trump’s second term.
I did not copy the entire article. Open the link to finish reading it.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I don’t think that what has become of the DOE is what Jimmy Carter had in mind at its inception. Its purpose was to make sure that minorities and the disabled were being treated fairly by their state and for the fair disbursement of tax $$$. The DOE is bloated and has overstepped its boundaries for far too long and the promises (from both sides) to rein in the madness seems to make issues worse. Sorry, but I think the whole department needs (needed) a major do-over. Unfortunately, the few good/necessary parts of the DOE will be bulldozed along with the garbage. This is what happens when the people at the top just keep kicking the can down the alley instead of dealing with the problems…by creating more problems.
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LisaM,
You are making broad generalizations. What part of ED is bloated? What is the “madness”?
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OH, PLEASE! Your blog was created because of the madness of it all and the syphoning of tax $$$ to testing companies and billionaires.
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Lisa,
These are broad generalizations.
“The DOE is bloated and has overstepped its boundaries for far too long and the promises (from both sides) to rein in the madness seems to make issues worse. Sorry, but I think the whole department needs (needed) a major do-over.”
What part of ED is “bloated”? What is “the madness”? How would you make over the Departnent?
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Public schools, teachers and students are in for a world of hurt under Trump. We will likely see Milton Freedman’s dystopian, anti-democratic free market myth get credence under the GOP. Pity the children that do not fit the mold as they will be left in the dark and stripped of any rights. Our public schools that once were the envy of the world will become the schools of last resort, if they survive the plunder at all in red states, unless parents step up and protest. The fallout will be felt less in blue states, but plenty of Trump disciples will cause a ruckus in these states as well. Wealthy young people will be in excellent shape; everyone else will suffer from these reckless, unsubstantiated policies. Not a pretty picture for the schools that helped build this country, turned us into an economic powerhouse and taught us to tolerate and accept our neighbors and individual differences.
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That “world of hurt” will be what is stuffed down the throats (choking the life out of true public education) of the students from the nationalistic (certainly not patriotic) xtian theocrats.
I’m more concerned about what those xtian theocrats wish to do with public education more than anything else.
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I had written a comment the other day in answer to a post & comments RE: students having little to know history/civics education these days. To give credit (actually, blame) where it’s due, I mentioned the odious NCLB, RTTT (or NCLB on steroids) & Common Core, all obliterating education as it is meant to be & NOT THE FAULT OF ACTUAL EDUCATORS/TEACHERS. Yesterday, I read an opinion article in The Chicago Tribune, “Who Deserves Blame for Decline in Young People’s Reading Habits?” by an Asst. Professor of Curriculum & Instruction @ the U of IL, Champaign-Urbana who formerly taught English in FL & GA. “Standardized tests dominate educational priorities, influencing national & state policy, school rankings & resource distribution. Although many teachers recognize these tests do little to enhance classroom learning, they remain a central focus. Because of this, some teachers feel obligated to prioritize test preparation, which often favors superficial reading comprehension over deep, sustained engagement w/text & ideas. Consequently, students may find themselves skimming to answer ?? rather than appreciating the transformative power of literature, all in pursuit of a passing score on a high stakes exam.
Teachers are not to blame for this predicament. When I was an English teacher in FL & GA–at-will employment states in which an employer can fire an employee for any reason, w/ or w/o cause or notice–I understood that improving student test scores was crucial for my job security…our educational culture has prioritized test scores over meaningful reading engagement. We’ve communicated that reading matters only when it can be dissected for a test, while students’ interests are sidelined.”
Of course, there is more, & if someone can provide the link to this article, it would be greatly appreciated.
That having been said, will it matter in 69 days, 19 hours, 59 minutes & 55 seconds?
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I pulled my 2nd out of public and put him into a private, all boys HS. They read a lot and wrote a lot. He is now a Jr. at a very good college and he hasn’t read a single book about anything! He rarely cracks open his texts. He is NOT a boy wonder or genius but still does better than most students and doesn’t even try that hard. The standards for college have dropped so low because ALL kids are now expected to go to college. College grades are based on attendance, stupid homework assignments and in class group projects and a few quizzes thrown in for good measure…..just like back in middle school. It’s so bad that community college is now called grade 13 and 14.
Every Child left behind, Race to the bottom, common core and all the testing has decimated public education. And no, I don’t blame teachers, but they have resigned themselves to the fact that this is just the way that it is. And the article is behind a paywall.
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As a college instructor (and former K-12 teacher), I agree with you on this LisaM. Each time I tell an undergraduate class that I’m concerned with the quality of their work and not merely whether or not they handed something in, they look at me like I’m insane. I think consumerism is a huge problem in higher education (in addition to administrative bloat), and even completing assignments is treated in a transactional manner. I’ve even had a couple of students not do any assignments and still expect to pass. As George Carlin predicted, “Pretty soon all you’ll need to get into college is a pencil.”
My college teaching is judged, not by peer evaluation, but solely by student evaluations and administrators who take those student (“customer”) evaluations as gospel. In one of my evaluations, I had a student complain about having to write lesson plans in a class that was about writing lesson plans (!), and I had to defend against that comment to administration. In order to “meet expectations” based on this single means of evaluation, I had to learn to game the system by behaviorally conditioning the students with lots of “easy A” decoy activities/assignments around the embedded real purposeful assignments that I fear are in danger of eventually being watered down as well.
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One more thing… I absolutely cringe every time I see things like PreK-16 and variations on that (such as preK-20). There is preK-12. College shouldn’t be high school 2.0, and I disagree with those who want to classify undergraduate school as grades 13-16.
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I say the kids classify Community College as grades 13 & 14. CC is now for the kids who are pushed to go to college even though they really don’t want to be there or they just aren’t college material (and I’m not being elitist when I say that!). The standards in CC are so low to accommodate those kids….its a cheap and easy A for kids enrolled in 4 yr colleges taking a class during the summer (with permission) so that they can bump up their GPA or try to graduate early. And then there is the factor that tons of HS students are “dual enrolled” due to over crowding within their public school zones….it’s pushed that the kids will graduate HS with an AA degree and any 4 yr university will accept them.
I’ll say that the 4 yrs of private HS that we paid for has been the best education my kid has gotten so far…..that’s sad.
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Well stated rbmtk!!
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The tRump to himself: To hell with DeVos that traitor. I know Michelle. . . Rhee to be the next federal Secretary of Education! She’s good at destroying public education.
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retiredbutmissthekids – right on
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Who will Trump pick to head the US Department of Education? He’ll probably drag Darth Vader out of retirement or worse yet, Bill Gates?
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It’s sadly ironic that when teachers called out the billionaires and tech bros for meddling in education we were dismissed as self-interested, lazy, radical unionists. Now that the tech bros and billionaires have bought themselves a president who’ll dismantle public education, there’s generalized hand wringing about why haven’t schools taught more about propaganda and civics and prevented this cataclysm.
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Diane Ravitch’s blog is a vital platform for discussing the challenges facing public education today. Her insights on the privatization movement and advocacy for teachers resonate deeply with those who care about the future of our schools. It’s a must-read for anyone invested in education reform and equity. Diane Ravitch’s blog serves as an essential resource for educators and advocates alike, highlighting the critical issues within public education. Her commitment to opposing privatization and supporting teachers is commendable. The discussions fostered here are crucial for understanding the complexities of educational reform and ensuring that every child receives a quality education.
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What is better/less threatening for public schools? An inherently politicized Dept of Ed that gives whatever president/political party is in power or no Dept of Ed. For example, the previous 4 appointments by either party haven’t been particularly good for public education (Spellings, Duncan, DeVos, Cardona). The Republican appointments are decidedly more threatening, but the Dems have been equally bad (Duncan) or milquetoast like Cardona. In any event, is political seesawing between two very different views and agendas really a good thing for public education in the long run. I think I’d rather see no Dept of Ed than one led again by DeVos or someone like Michelle Rhee. I think it’s worth considering that the Trumpers might be doing us a backhanded favor. The better alternative would be to make education an independent agency at the federal level like the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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I’d take a Devos over a Duncan any day! She didn’t get much done because her pet project was vouchers and most people won’t vote for that. Duncan decimated public education! How could some dumb oaf be allowed to bribe states into accepting Race to the Bottom (and all of its faux education) in exchange for its own federal tax dollars? I think the ideals and inception of the DOE was a good one (a very Jimmy Carter thing to do!), but the implementation (by both parties) has been disastrous for public education. I’m with you in thinking that this could be a “backhanded favor”.
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LisaM,
DeVos would have done great damage but she was constrained by Democratic control of the House.
I agree with your assessment of Duncan.
Trump will likely choose Byron Donald’s or his wife or Tiffany Justice of Moms for Liberty. Someone who wants to burn down everything public.
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Ralph Birch: I think the argument is back and forth, until you get to the more basic idea of what public education means.
One of the deeper points to public education (among many others) is exactly the public nature of it–whereas children can experience a collective culture driven by principles of learning, for lack of a better term.
There is embedded in the idea an acquaintance with all sorts of differences and perhaps a tolerance of it (live and let live), if it doesn’t meet a child’s family values and perhaps religious background. So, children can raise questions for themselves and answer them at their own rate for themselves in a learning setting, where everyone can contribute to that larger ongoing project.
From there one can understand that also embedded in the idea of choice is (besides the good/bad economic features of it) that children will only carry with them the potential unquestioned biases, closures of mind, and lack of tolerance that, while not necessary to family values and the church, are much more likely to remain present in their thinking as children miss the larger unitary value of the public education arena and idea.
Of course, it takes a really savvy teacher. Just some thoughts. CBK
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Please start a poll of the readers to see who is the most prescient in interpreting the tRump’s plan.
Question: Who will the tRump pick to be the new Secretary of the Department of Education. . .
. . . wait a minute don’t the Rethugs plan on eliminating that department?
Never mind! (apologies to Roseanne Rosannadanna)
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The idea of an independent “Department of Education” was a favorite of leaders of the National Education Association. I was a part of the NEA structure in the ’60’s and ’70’s, before the Department and while the idea was debated. Our brothers & sisters in the American Federation of Teachers were opposed to the idea–feeling mostly that education should be a part of, not separate from, the rest of society’s work. We had, in the ’60’s and ’50’s, HEW, Department of Health, Education, & Welfare
At the same time, NEA leaders and AFT leaders were considering–or fighting–the idea of merger of the two unions. There were also political disagreements, i.e., support for Carter, a Southern governor, was stronger in the NEA. As I recall, candidate Jimmy Carter promised a separate “department” to NEA, and with that and other factors, got their strong support for President. It was the first time NEA had endorsed in the Presidential race.
In that era, America’s labor unions were struggling to maintain or increase membership, so organizing was strongest in the public sector, to help offset declines in industry.
Reagan, though a former president of the actors’ union, had been brought to power by powerful corporate groups opposed to unions. So when he won, he set about to weaken organized labor. He appointed anti-union people to the National Labor Relations Board. He fired striking air traffic controllers, etc. And his administration endorsed a publication, “A Nation at Risk,” which assailed public education. Because of the growing power of teacher unions? He didn’t say that, but these connections were clear–if you were looking.
We are living today in a world created by those actions. PUBLIC education weakened. Unions weakened. Big business in control.
None of this is covered on standardized history tests.
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Standardized History tests??? They don’t even teach history anymore!
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