On May 22, Trump said that he is going to sign an executive order to begin eliminating the US Department of Education “once and for all.”  His words scared millions of people, mostly parents and guardians of the 7.5 million special needs students in America. 

Due to the high risk for their children, there are now 12,000 kids and guardians waiting for answers from the pending investigation with the Department of Education regarding civil rights violations in schools. There are kids who are not getting the proper accommodations that should be legally provided by the district. Kids and guardians now have to rely on the Department of Education because their district isn’t reliable. Some kids will have to wait for years just for their proper educational needs, and most have to learn how to find a voice to be able to fight. But most stay quiet and lose hope.

This also means students who need an accommodation and aren’t getting it have to go through the Department of Education and instead of the school district. Nothing is just handed to you. You still have to fight, and nothing is guaranteed to you. The risk factor of any of the many pending investigations is going up. The risks for schools are high. The scary part: no one really can imagine how this will affect districts like ours.

In 1965, the US Department of Education (USDE) instituted the Title Program. The USDE started out to help low-income families access equal education for all individuals, regardless of background..It was designed to provide the resources and funding needed to ensure that students are provided the same educational opportunities and ability to succeed as their peers in wealthier districts. The Department is now for overseeing education policy and administering federal funding. 

Since NASD is a Title I school district, our school “must meet federal regulations related to teachers’ qualifications as defined in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).”  These regulations are put in place to help parents learn more about teachers’ training and the strongest matches.

NASD has five different programs that all fall into the Title program: Title IA, Title ID, Title IIA, Title III, and Title IV.  Each of these programs gives funding for our schools in different categories to ensure that NASD has a smooth school year. 

• Title IA gives students who need more accommodation and additional support equal learning opportunities.
•  Title ID creates  training or programs that are set to help children prepare for life outside of school. 
• Title IIA reduces large class sizes by bringing in more teachers.
• Title III  grants bilingual students to be able to get English learning.
• Title IV also gives additional funding for bilingual students due to our school’s larger population. 

 In total NASD was given $4,338,288 for the 24-25 school year. 

What is going to happen to NASD and other Title 1 school districts if we lose the Department of Education?

The main issue with the Trump Administration threatening to disband the Department of Education is that Title 1 schools can lose their federal funding without its Department of Education. It could possibly be cut in half or gone completely.

You might also start to notice that classroom sizes get bigger because of teacher loss. This will affect student comprehension and focus. More teachers can lose motivation in the process.

Another thing you might notice is that your school won’t have summer programs or other extracurriculars, such as tutoring programs, which leaves low-income students with less academic success and opportunity. 

The special education program will be drastically affected by their loss of government help. The government makes sure that students with disabilities are able to receive the right amount of support that is needed. Without the USDE, the program will go downhill. Students with disabilities would no longer receive fair learning opportunities.

I myself may lose some of my legal accommodations. I will lose my ability to clearly see normal classroom materials as a regular student can. I had my fair share of issues and had to fight just for a fair ability to learn as my peers have learned. My main risk is having to fight hard just for an education. But the main question is, will my argument be hard? Will it go down in the books? Will it be just another one of the 12,000 pending investigations against the Department of Education for civil rights violations? My dreams may or may not be crushed. Who knows ?

As you can see, the Department of Education is needed in NASD. Without its students, teachers, and staff members, our district will continue to grow in size but not grow academically. It’ll ruin our rank and name for years to come.