This week, we asked readers their opinions on U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order dismantling the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. DOE).

 

On March 20, White House officials said that since 1979, the U.S. DOE has spent over $3 trillion “with virtually nothing to show for it.” They said despite per-pupil spending increasing by more than 245% over that period, there has been “virtually no measurable improvement in student achievement.”

 

They said math and reading scores for 13-year-olds are at the lowest level in decades, six out of ten fourth graders and nearly three-quarters of eighth graders are not proficient in math, seven out of ten fourth and eighth graders are not proficient in reading, while 40% of fourth grade students don’t meet basic reading levels. They said standardized test scores have remained flat for decades and U.S. students rank 28 out of 37 OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] member countries in math.

They said education belongs with individual states which they said are “best positioned to administer effective programs and services that benefit their own unique populations and needs.” They added, “Instead of a bloated federal system that burdens schools with regulations and paperwork, the Trump Administration believes states should be empowered to expand educational freedom and opportunity for all families.”

 

White House officials went on to say that the U.S. DOE currently manages a student loan debt portfolio of more than $1.6 trillion, and the Federal student aid program is roughly the size of one of the nation’s largest banks, Wells Fargo. They said although Wells Fargo has more than 200,000 employees, the U.S. DOE has fewer than 1,500 in its Office of Federal Student Aid.

 

They said U.S. DOE is not a bank and “must return bank functions to an entity equipped to serve America’s students.” They later announced that, going forward, student financial aid would be managed by the U.S. Department of Small Business Administration (SBA).

 

During a subsequent CNN interview with U.S. DOE Secretary Linda McMahon, anchor Dana Bash discussed how the dismantling of U.S. DOE would require the approval of congress. Meanwhile, McMahon said funding for students with disabilities would likely be managed, going forward, by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).

McMahon said U.S. DOE “does not educate one child, does not establish any curriculum in any state, doesn’t hire teachers, doesn’t establish programs. What it is, is more of a pass through of funding, which is appropriated by Congress.”

 

Bash questioned a potential lack of education spending oversight by the DOE under the new proposed model. McMahon said the goal was to ensure education-related funding, appropriated by Congress, would continue “in the departments where it needs to be,” but to allow states to be “innovative and creative with their teaching.”

 

She said “a lot of current funding to states comes with a lot of red tape” and the goal, going forward, was to allow States to spend funding where they deemed it appropriate e.g. hiring teachers, increasing salaries, etc. McMahon said the president wanted to ensure there would be equal access to quality education for every student in the country and that that was why he was a proponent of school choice. “He doesn’t believe that any child should be trapped in a failing school,” she said.

A 2025-2026 Strategic Planning report by New York City Public Schools, based on School District 10 data, shows enrollment at different school types by age-group (see attached graphs). Meanwhile, a 2018 Center for New York Affairs/New School report, “The Paradox of Choice: How School Choice Divides NYC Elementary Schools,” found that in higher-income areas, parents’ satisfaction with their local schools was often higher, so the proportion of children enrolled in their zoned schools tended to be high.

 

The report also cited the following conclusion on zoning and school choice by New York Appleseed, a group which advocates for integrated schools and communities in New York City and New York State: “Zones provide families of means with exclusive access to the schools they like, while choice allows them to flee the ones they don’t (2013).” Norwood News reached out NYC DoE for a comment on how school choice affects public school funding. We had not received feedback by our print deadline, but will share any feedback we receive.

“It’s ridiculous! A lot of states won’t be able to provide funding for education. They (the Trump administration) say they will fund the Pell Grants and other things, but do you believe them? And fund special education, but do you believe them? I really don’t know about mismanagement because my nieces and nephews have been out of school for many, many years but you hear about kids not learning. I’m not hopeful about what they are doing.”

A.C. Pressley,
Parkchester

“Shutting down the [U.S.] Department of Education would have far-reaching consequences, impacting various aspects of higher education. The department plays a crucial role in doling out billions of dollars to students each year. If the department is eliminated, it’s unclear what would happen to these programs. Another significant impact would be on the department’s office for civil rights that investigates complaints of discrimination on college campuses ensuring students’ rights are protected.”

Maggie Sweet,
L.A. CA., via Locust Point

“I have a son, Richard, who is 8 years old, and he is on the autism spectrum. He is not verbal, so these cuts will greatly affect my son’s education and mental state. He currently does not have all the things that they should be able to provide. These cuts will dramatically decrease the help he is receiving and desperately needs. Children like him need all the help they can get.”

Hanifa Cooper,
Morrisania

“I feel the [U.S.] Department of Education needs to be disbanded because it has been taken over by woke, socialist, Marxist whack-a-doodles who want to push the Marxist agenda to indoctrinate our school children. We do not need our children learning such nonsense as male toxicity, new pronouns, climate change, antisemitism, and anti-Americanism and other nonsense.”

Kathleen Jones,
Co-Op City

“I believe that the appropriations should go to the states, but the oversight for financial aid, and special education, and school lunches must remain under federal control.”

Efrain Gonzalez III,
Westchester Square

Editor’s Note:

Federal Pell Grants are usually awarded to undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need and have not earned a bachelor’s, graduate, or professional degree.

According to Merriam Webster, socialism means any of various egalitarian, economic and political theories or movements advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.

Meanwhile, Marxism is the political, economic, and social principles and policies advocated by Karl Marx, a German-born philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist.

We asked NYC Department of Education if there was any evidence to suggest the [U.S.] Department of Education had been “taken over by woke, socialist, Marxist whack-a-doodles who want to push the Marxist agenda to indoctrinate our school children.”

We also asked if children were learning about male toxicity, new pronouns, climate change, antisemitism, and anti-Americanism. We had not received a response by our print deadline.