;)
As a and the balance of federal and state roles in American education, I believe that understanding the department and its leader鈥檚 responsibilities is especially important today. Every child in the United States is required to attend school in some capacity, and what happens at the federal level can have real-world impacts on students ranging from preschool to grad school.
In addition, President-elect Donald Trump has pledged .
The secretary of education
The secretary of education belongs to the president鈥檚 cabinet, leads the Department of Education and advises the president about educational policy issues.
They oversee a department with a that enforces many civil rights laws and ensures compliance with federal laws such as the .
Some of the Education Department鈥檚 key responsibilities include administering funding to help schools serving low-income students obtain an equitable education regardless of their socioeconomic status; managing the 鈥� known as IDEA 鈥� to ensure services for students with disabilities; and overseeing the 鈥� or FAFSA 鈥� which helps millions of students afford college.
Through the FAFSA, millions of students obtain , which don鈥檛 have to be repaid, , which do, as well as part-time .
In the U.S., education is . As a result, the function of schooling largely falls to individual states.
Each state has its own education system, with most designating a significant amount of control to local jurisdictions. bear the responsibility for setting many policies and approving budgets for their district.
Federal funding makes up . of the bill, mostly through a combination of taxes on income and property. In some cases, there are other taxes, such as those on tobacco and alcohol sales, or revenue is raised through state lottery systems.
These funding formulas can be .
Secretaries who stood out
Ultimately, the role of the secretary of education is less about wielding substantial power and more about using the position as a platform to influence the national conversation on education.
Education secretaries often act as thought leaders, shaping public dialogue and policies rather than directly implementing sweeping change. Some have garnered more attention than others.
, who served as secretary of education during the Reagan administration, became a prominent conservative voice. He advocated for 鈥溾�� rooted in traditional values. Bennett also sharply , blaming them for the perceived decline in the quality of American education.
commanded more national attention as secretary of education than most people who have held the position during her tenure in the George W. Bush administration. Spellings championed standards-based education with an emphasis on accountability. She played an important role in implementing , a federal education initiative that aimed to increase accountability by requiring all public schools to meet consistent standards.
, who served as education secretary during the Obama administration, also made a lot of headlines. His program encouraged school districts and states to compete for federal funding as a way to drive improvement through competition. Duncan鈥檚 support for school choice and policy reforms, as well as his occasional criticisms of teachers unions, made him 鈥� including within his own Democratic Party.
Betsy DeVos, who served during Trump鈥檚 first administration, was one of the most polarizing education secretaries in the department鈥檚 brief history. Her tenure was defined more by efforts to in education than attempts to build new initiatives or improve public education.
DeVos also charter schools, which are funded with tax dollars but operated independently of local school systems.
Student loan debt
The amount of student debt Americans owe in recent years. Reducing that burden was among the top priorities of , President Joe Biden鈥檚 education secretary.
In 2023, the Biden鈥檚 plan to forgive up to $20,000 per borrower. In response, the Biden administration announced that included lower loan payments and additional forgiveness; most of them are on hold due to .
Ultimately, the courts will determine the legality of these relief efforts 鈥� underscoring the limits of the secretary of education鈥檚 power. With the scale of this debt, I am certain that student loan debt is likely to remain a big focus for anyone serving as the secretary of education.
Culture wars battleground
Debates regarding education policies sometimes double as battles over cultural issues, such as LGBTQ rights in schools and whether parents should have more control over what students are taught in classrooms.
Conservative groups such as have pushed for laws that restrict discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity and have supported bans on transgender athletes in school sports.
LGBTQ rights organizations, including the , support policies that protect trans children from bullying at school.
On the chopping block?
The education secretary鈥檚 job would go away if Trump were to succeed with his campaign promise to 鈥溾�� the department. Doing that would require an act of Congress, but experts question whether such a measure would prevail .
Even , many federal education programs could be distributed to other agencies.
The predates the establishment of the Department of Education. I have no doubt that it would continue should there not be a secretary of education anymore.
This story is part of a of Cabinet and high-level administration positions.
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