if the department of education is gone, my student loans better be gone too

ac writes: on the (potential) end of the Department of Education and why it matters

In Conway, Arkansas, there are essentially three options for your education under the age of eighteen: you can be home schooled, you can attend one of the two private (religious) schools, or you attend, like me and my peers, public Conway High School¹. And before I wax poetic about my education, I want to make a couple of things abundantly clear:

Making Things Abundantly Clear: I am incredibly, incredibly privileged because of my demographics, my family, and the opportunities that I have had in my life. I am not, by any means, the end all be all of advocating for the necessity of public schools. However, because my life experience has been shaped by public education, I feel that I have a couple of things to say. Here they are:

Gutting the DOE without a plan for student loans is “a recipe for chaos and frustration for millions of people who rely on the student loan program” -Peter Granville

Okay, now that that is out of the way, let’s debrief. From a personal perspective, I was aware that my education had significant positives and negatives compared to the peers I met when I entered my private 4-year university. The fact that I attended a school like WashU is relevant here, because the people I met (while not always) were occasionally from the private (non religious), feeder high schools whose priority was to send their students to Ivies or other Top 20 colleges in the country. They’re entire life was primed for an elite university, while my high school counselor encouraged me to stay in state.

Conway High School, however, gave me the most incredible opportunity of my life: the ability to take the classes, specifically the AP classes, that allowed me to leave the state for university, if I so chose. The normal $99 fee to take the culminating end-of-year AP exam would be paid for by the state, per a 2007 rule made by the Arkansas Department of Education, saving me what would have been a total of almost $1300 that my family would have had to spend.

So, with very limited prior knowledge, I (like many I’m sure) were paranoid and a bit nauseated upon seeing that the Trump Administration is continuing to move to dismantle the Department of Education. I decided to do some research to figure out what this actually means. No school? No loans? Mass indoctrination of students to white nationalist ideals? We shall see.

Honestly, I think the best way to start talking about the DOE is by mentioning that the actual department cannot be fully shut down without a Congressional Super Majority (~60% of the vote) which seems unlikely to happen given the fact that while Republicans have a majority, they do not have enough votes to fully achieve this unless Dems cross the party line (which I also find unlikely given, you know, everything). BBC also reported that in 2023, the House of Representatives voted to close the agency, but the move was opposed not only by the Dems, but by 60 Republicans. Once again, Congressional moves to fully shut this down seem less than possible to occur. The Department of Education has actually been advocated against by Republicans essentially since it was established by Jimmy Carter in 1979. The party opposed centralizing education and wanted it returned to the states instead (BBC).

So, what does the DOE do? I couldn’t remember from my AP U.S. History course (sorry, Mr. Richardson, I promise I loved the class at the time), so I decided to do some research to figure out its main functions before throwing down the This Will Ruin Our Country gauntlet. The DOE essentially works with the money behind our education, or at least that’s what it seems to me. They manage/allocate funding to Title I schools in low-income areas, they ensure that IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) is followed and gives students with disabilities the resources for specialized education, and they are in charge of managing the student loans that more than 40 million Americans have (and about 1/6 are still paying off).

Importantly, the federal government does not dictate school curriculum, though with the mass removal of “woke” “DEI” whatever from government documents and websites, there’s no way that the Trump Administration’s alt-right moves won’t affect what will inevitably be taught in schools. After all, how can you do a research project on the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, if the plane has been scrapped from “history” because the word “gay” (I kid you not) is in it’s name. It would be funny if it wasn’t so horrifying. Well… it’s a little funny.

What I mean by this is that the direct unemployment and wanted ‘closure’ of the DOE shouldn’t directly impact curriculum (until, of course, this era is taught about in the future). Furthermore, the Trump Administration and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon maintain that loan borrowers, Title I schools, and students who benefit from IDEA will not be impacted by the supposed shut down. She says:

“We will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers, and others who rely on essential programs” - CBS

That’s good, seeing as there is about $18 billion that goes to funding Title I schools, schools like the ones in Arkansas who greatly benefit from the federal budget. But if Title I won’t be impacted, IDEA won’t be impacted, and student loans won’t be impacted… what will be?

It appears that the Trump Administration Elon Musk is trying to move big masses of funding to other departments with little to no long-term plans and no regard for the fact that these same departments are also facing mass cuts under DOGE. While Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary and proof that blondes have more fun (even in the government), has asserted that student loans will stay in the DOE, the Trump admin and even Big T himself has suggested other avenues, including the Department of Treasury and the Small Business Administration. Psst, guys. You’re supposed to know the plan BEFORE you speak to the American public. Meanwhile, “special needs funding” (Trump’s words, not mine) would go to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Whew, at least THAT department is run by someone competent. Wait… no. The competent guy was the raccoon he had for dinner.

If you were to ask me, in all of my wisdom, what I actually think is going to happen, this is how I’m expecting it to go: The Department, I think (read: hope), won’t be shut down. So don’t freak out yet.

Rather, I worry it will be defunded and destabilized in places where the Executive Branch (read: DOGE) has control or can grab control. For example, Al Jazeera reports that as of March 11, 2025, the DOE has gone from approximately 4,133 employees (a pre-inauguration number) to about 2,183. They’ve also cut nearly half of the workers in the Office for Civil Rights, making it exponentially harder for students to process claims. Big Picture? It’s already difficult to get a hold of someone when you’re stressed about your student loans or need to file a complaint. Cutting the amount of people who can actually answer that phone call in half is only going to make it harder for Americans to contact the Department (or whatever it will be) about their finances.

Right now, we don’t know what is happening, but it is safe to say there there IS going to be a risk to low income students and students with disabilities as these changes continue to occur. As Hakeem Jeffries, US House Minority Leader, said in a statement:

“Shutting down the Department of Education will harm millions of children in our nation’s public schools, their families and hardworking teachers. Class sizes will soar, educators will be fired, special education programs will be cut and college will get even more expensive.” - The Guardian

So, what we do know, unfortunately, is that our mountains of student debt will not evaporate with the Department of Education (tragic). We also know that, for the states, rather than using X amount of money for state programs A, B, and C.. maybe they’ll have a little more money, but they now have to fund A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Surely, something will fall through the cracks. That’s not a risk I think should be taken with children’s education.

The subjectivity with which state government’s can now approach funding education is unsettling, at minimum. The way I see it, returning these funding measures to the state is going to result in a vast increase in disparity between states’ education levels because there is no centralizing power to ensure that all students with disabilities are given the same baseline resources or to ensure that all classroom sizes don’t grow exorbitantly. This will, unsurprisingly, primarily affect students in rural and impoverished areas. There is a video of Cory Booker (D-NJ) in his record-breaking Senate speech discussing the DOE. I think he explains it well. I’d also like to mention that this clip is from (about) hour 21 of his 25 hours and 4 minute long speech. While comments on this video mention how the country should not only be uplifting “geniuses,” I think that the point is that the DOE gives every child, “Einstein,” “Madame Curie,” or not, the resources for a more equal education. Watch below:

I started writing this when the news of the gutting to the DOE broke. I was feeling a little anxious. Not because I thought the mass cuts to the Department of Education would cause the #End of public education but because I know how I, and many of my peers from ye olde Conway High School, benefited from the opportunities that might be lost given that the state will now be funding what the country used to. I am no oracle, and I pray every day that I am wrong, but I know what access to affordable AP courses and resources that I didn’t have to pay for did for my education, and I would be just a little heartbroken to see that go away for students in the future.

You, reading this, may not care at all about Arkansas. I get it.

We’re one of those states that sometimes falls through the cracks, unless our governor is making national news, some horrible hillbilly shit happens, or we’re usurping St. Johns in March Madness (and totally screwing my bracket). But I live here. I’ve lived here for the vast majority of my life, and I’ll be here for medical school for another four years. I want to see the state be, and do, better than it is right now. And I know that for rural, often forgotten states like mine, these Executive Orders will hit us hard.

I understand the mentality that those of you reading this from primarily blue or left leaning states may have, or maybe those of you from marginalized communities who are being scorned, shamed, and cast away. Maybe you’re thinking: “The people in states like Arkansas gave zero shits about me or others like me and directly voted against that. Why in God’s name would I care about anything happening to them?” I get the FAFO mentality that I have seen from those on the left who are just too damn tired of catering to or caring about people who are clearly voting against their rights. I have sat in that mentality for basically… well… until I started researching this. But, I beg you to know, it isn’t all of us.

Someone I know from Arkansas, Abigail, posted on her social media about the changes in the AR school system and I feel that part of it is relevant here:

What I’ve realized is that the education I received at some of the most formative years of my life really created and shaped who I am. I am beyond blessed with parents who have similar mindsets to me and have encouraged me, throughout my life, to challenge, ask questions, research, and constantly learn more about the world around me.

But it was not just my parents. It was also Ms. Powers, my fifth grade English teacher who brought out my love of reading and writing and encouraged it in a way no other teacher had (at a time when YA dystopian novels were huge, so you know I was probably insufferable). It was Ms. Penn and Ms. Bowden, the AP chemistry and biology, respectively, teachers who fostered my love of medicine and science. It was Ms. Reed, my AP psychology teacher who gave everyone a full sized candy bar on their birthday and made everything about the world so perfectly clear. And it was my grandmother, Ann Gregg, an elementary school teacher who was retired by the time I came around, but never failed to take me school supplies shopping, even for college.

It’s these teachers and their impact on students that I fear most. Teachers in towns like mine who truly love what they do, but will most likely face an increase in stress when classroom sizes soar and their pay is not adequately compensated. Students may see less individualization from their teachers because there are just too many.

Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva gave a statement about the DOE during a meeting of the legislature’s joint budget committee, saying:

“I think the hope and the desire is that we would still continue to receive that allocation without the bureaucracy red-taping the strings that the feds like to put on those dollars”

My opinion? I don’t think it is fair to rely on hopes and desires to ensure that low income students or students with disabilities get the same access and education as their peers, the kind of access and education that they would have under the DOE.

I understand why you may not care about this in states like Arkansas, but I have to. This is my home, no matter where I go, and legislation such as this by the Trump Administration gives me immense fear for how my home, the students that learn within it, and the teachers that work to make it better will be impacted. I cannot not care. And so, for whatever it may be worth, I wrote this.

Epilogue: Favorites of the Week

While it may seem trite to end an honestly depressing piece with media I’ve been enjoying, I needed something to bring my spirits up. So here we go:

In books, I’ve been reading Tom Lake by Ann Patchett and, while I’m early pages in, I love the plot and the narrative style and can see myself truly enjoying this. I’m, obviously, caught up on The White Lotus and honestly can admit that this may be my favorite cast so far, I think it’s going to take a major change for me to agree that this plot line beats season 2. Though maybe I just miss Jennifer Coolidge. I’ve also been honestly obsessed with both The Pitt and season 3 of Yellowjackets. Amazing TV these days.

My partner and I watched four movies during his time in Arkansas: A Real Pain (fantastic, I love Kieran Culkin), Mickey 17 (maybe too on the nose, but props to Mark Ruffalo committing to his Trump bit for the entire film), Flow (perfect, no notes), and Little Miss Sunshine (was Steve Carrell hot?). Essentially, a great week. I also made him start watching Veep (I wanted to re watch it) and maybe I’ll turn it on again to find some joy after publishing this.

And as for writing, I’ve personally not stopped thinking about

sarah cucchiara

’s “crying outside of dior.” I genuinely eat up every beautiful word that exits her brain, and I am lucky to know her. Also, as a general “Here’s a Writer I Am Perpetually Obsessed With” addition:

Alex Friedman

and her blog (do we call them blogs? I don’t know) “Hot Tip.” She makes me laugh about the news, no matter what the news is, and I am kind of obsessed with every post she has.

Anyway, this is where I leave you for now. As always, take care of yourself. We’ll talk soon <3

1. Interestingly to the remainder of this piece, my high school is now discussing applying to become a charter school, which should be… interesting. It appears this has since been shut down, but I had to point it out.