The WVCBP’s education policy fellow, Tamaya Browder, released the following statement on March 20, 2025 in response to the Trump Administration’s executive order to “eliminate the U.S. Department of Education”.
“The U.S. Department of Education provides critical support, funding, and protections for our nation’s school-aged children. While, to be clear, states and communities already determine curriculum and establish education and graduation requirements, federal funding helps ensure resources are available to the children who need them most. In West Virginia, the USDE provides $154 million to 114,000 students in Title I schools and $147 million to 47,000 children with physical or learning disabilities who receive IDEA funding, among many other critical federally-funded programs.
While today’s executive order aims to dismantle the Department, to formally close it and cut essential funding would require an act of Congress. As policymakers move forward, they must consider the invaluable role of the U.S. Department of Education in funding critical programs, ensuring students’ civil rights’ protections and compiling vital data on educational outcomes across the country- needs that state and local governments will not be able to easily fill without raising new revenue and increasing the size of their own governments.”
See here for more details on how federal funding impacts your local school district: https://wvpolicy.org/how-would-the-loss-of-federal-funding-affect-wv-school-districts/
