Trump Plans to ‘Close' the Department of Education. What Does This Mean?
Northwestern University economist Kirabo Jackson, former economic advisor to President Biden, recently spoke with NBC Chicago about how education policy in the U.S. may shift under the new Trump administration.
Jackson is the Abraham Harris Professor of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy. His research tackles some of the most important and baffling questions in education today, including the impact of school spending, what makes someone a good teacher, and the long-term benefits of learning social emotional skills in high school.
An edited version of his interview follows:
Can a president abolish the Department of Education?
Jackson: No, it would actually require an act of Congress. But whether Congress decides to go along with it is an important part of this.
What does the Department of Education do?
It basically enforces many of the laws we have in place that ensure education is done in an equitable way. The Department enforces non-discrimination laws and administers the federal loan system in the higher education space. It also helps fund K-12 programs.
How much school funding comes from the federal government?
About 10 or 11 percent of public-school funding comes from the federal government. The other 45 percent comes from state sources, and 45 percent comes from local sources. Most of the federal funding goes towards supporting low-income students, those with disabilities and English language learners through Title I.
Trump’s 2024 platform states “The United States spends more money per pupil on Education than any other Country in the World, and yet we are at the bottom of every educational list in terms of results.” How accurate is this statement?
It’s true we are one of the largest spenders in terms of how much we spend on public education in this country. But the second part is not accurate at all. We are not at the bottom in terms of rankings internationally. The Program for International Student Assessment is done once every two or three years and in 2022 the percentage of top performers in all subjects (mathematics, reading and science) was one of the highest among the approximately 80 PISA-participating countries and economies.
What do you see changing with the new administration?
Much of the student loan forgiveness under President Biden was mostly done through the Department of Education. I would imagine it was relatively unpopular among Republicans. Some of that might stop. Some programs could also be moved to other departments. Historically speaking, the Department of Education has only been around for 45 years. Some of those functions in terms of administering and enforcing some of the rules around nondiscrimination could be moved to different departments.
Do you expect other shifts?
One proposal allows money coming from the federal government to be allocated towards school choice or towards private school vouchers. I suspect we're going to see money tied to teaching certain type of curriculums. In Texas, there's legislation right now to give districts that teach the Bible, for example, additional money from the state. Whether any of these will be federal overreach, or whether it's constitutional is a question for the courts, but I would expect to see some so activity in that domain.