Kentucky lawmakers recently met to discuss the current and future state of the Department of Education. The Interim Joint Committee on Education heard from officials who said the Trump Administration cannot truly eliminate the Department of Education as it is a decision only Congress can make.
Tara Thomas, Government Affairs Manager of the AASA, the School Superintendents Association, said the decision to eliminate the Department of Education would require 60 votes in the Senate, which is not politically feasible right now.
“Even if the department is eliminated, I think it's important to acknowledge that IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and Title One, those key formula programs specifically from the K-12 perspective, would continue. So, any conversations around eliminating the department is not also saying that we should eliminate those key formula programs as well,” said Thomas.
Thomas added President Trump permitted by law the Secretary of Education to take all steps to return authority over education to states and local communities. With that, there was a significant reduction in force in the department and about 50 percent of the staff were laid off.
Thomas also said the Budget Reconciliation Bill could affect the federal student loan system for higher education.
“They're setting new limits and changes to the requirements for Pell grants. So, for instance, right now in order to be considered full-time and therefore to get the maximum Pell grant you have to be enrolled in 12 credit hours per semester. This would increase that to now being full-time would be 15 credit hours. And it also changes the Pell grant formula,” said Thomas.
Thomas added that this bill will eliminate unsubsidized loans and put limits on how much an individual can borrow over a lifetime. Additionally, the bill would establish a workforce, or short-term, Pell grant to allow people to use the grants outside of a four-year university. Officials said this bill could potentially increase the endowment tax and create risk sharing policies for institutions.
Moving forward, officials said it is necessary to keep a close eye on cuts and updates to the state of the Department of Education and ensure that allocations continue to go out.