Shutting Down the Education Department Betrays the Mission of Public Schools

The U.S. Supreme Court recently allowed the Trump administration to move forward with dismantling the federal Department of Education, clearing the way for mass firings and the displacement of education programs to other agencies.

New America’s education policy experts have written extensively on the ways that the disbanding of Department of Education will harm American education, from slashing student supports to undermining civil rights. But beyond the practical harms, the administration’s promise to close the department reveals a larger, troubling belief—that public education needs no federal agency because it serves no national role. This marks a tragic departure from America’s tradition of seeing public education as key to our nation’s democratic promise.

For at least 200 years, America has seen public education as essential for democracy. At the dawn of American public schooling, Horace Mann argued that while older governments let only “the Pharaohs, the Neros, the Napoleons” reach their full potential, a self-governing people must be broadly educated to meet the demands of democracy. Over a century later, in Brown v. Board of Education, Chief Justice Earl Warren affirmed “the importance of education to our democratic society,” noting, “It is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education … a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.” Crucially, the Court held that racial segregation denied students equal access to this right, and not just because of the differences in the material resources afforded to each group. The deeper harm lies in the implication that students are not part of the same learning community, which is itself destructive to democratic equality.

To fulfill their democratic purpose, public schools must provide an experience in line with their original name—common schools—by offering students a chance to learn together, in common. A vast body of research shows that children of all races and economic backgrounds benefit from integrated classrooms, with gains in learning, degree attainment, and future employment. But the benefits aren’t just individual: Common schooling is about what we share. Education is about building students’ understanding of the world, their connection to others in society, and their potential to shape the future.

And the federal Department of Education has been instrumental in ensuring that public schools serve the full diversity of America’s children. It has enforced the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, upheld the rights of English learners and undocumented students, established Equity Assistance Centers, and more—pushing us closer to the ideal of common schools that welcome and prepare everyone to help build our future. Disbanding the department implies the opposite: that there’s nothing we’re building in common, and federal education policy is just piecemeal programs with no unifying vision.

This idea is echoed by the current turn towards school vouchers, which atomize the learning experience by inviting, even pushing, families to exit the public system. This administration’s approach to school choice (one of its “core education priorities”) marks a departure from recent administrations. Predecessors have largely supported school choice that advanced integration, through magnet schools, diverse-by-design charter schools, and public intra-district choice. By contrast, this administration uses choice to steer students toward private schools while proposing to slash funds for public ones. Together, these two priorities threaten the sustainability of the public system. They disperse public funding across private institutions with individual, not societal, goals, leaving less for the system meant to educate us all.

The Trump administration’s policies consistently abandon the public and civic in favor of the private and self-interested. Disinvestment from early education, PreK–12, and higher education will leave us ill-equipped to thrive in the future. Weakening national vaccine policies prioritizes individual choice over the safety of children, the sick, and the elderly. Rolling back climate efforts endangers not only future generations but also vulnerable communities today. Cuts to Medicaid could strip health insurance from up to 17 million people. New rules reducing food assistance for low-income families impose draconian work requirements and cruelly abandon people in need.

Across these policies runs a common thread: We are not in this together, we owe each other nothing, and the future is not our concern. It is a small, mean vision of America.

But it’s not a vision that young people share. In 2018, 14 students in Rhode Island sued to establish a federal constitutional right to public education—specifically, one that prepares them not just academically, but also for democratic participation. The judge in that case, Cook v. McKee, wrote:

“This case [represents] a cry for help from a generation of young people who are destined to inherit a country which we—the generation currently in charge—are not stewarding well. What these young people seem to recognize is that American democracy is in peril. Its survival, and their ability to reap the benefit of living in a country with robust freedoms and rights, a strong economy, and a moral center protected by the rule of law, is something that citizens must cherish, protect, and constantly work for. We would do well to pay attention to their plea.”

Students in 2025 have a president whose ears are closed to that plea.

It’s true that the federal role in education has been limited—federal funding constitutes just 8 percent of the average school district’s funding, and most decisions happen at the state and local level. But that doesn’t mean there is no role for the federal government. In fact, as the institution meant to represent the entire nation, it’s the exact right place to lead on education’s public purpose.

Students will inherit a country we all share. The Trump administration should act like it.

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