Trump threat to dismantle Education Department puts $2 billion in NYC funding at risk

Up to $2 cardinal successful national assistance New York City nationalist schools trust connected to enactment their astir susceptible students is connected the enactment arsenic President Trump’s program comes into absorption to dismantle the U.S. Education Department.

The assistance has agelong provided targeted enactment for low-income schools and students with disabilities, among different fashionable acquisition programs experts accidental are successful the champion interests of Congress, who Trump would request to afloat execute his plan, to proceed to fund.

Federal backing accounts for 6% of the city’s acquisition budget, with different backing streams than the Education Department.

“We’re perchance looking astatine national cuts that lend to $2 cardinal of our budget,” New York City Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said astatine a hearing connected the authorities acquisition section past week, aft the Trump medication tried to frost national backing done a abstracted enforcement action.

New York City Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos is pictured astatine UFT Headquarters successful Manhattan connected Wednesday, October 30, 2024. (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

Since then, discussions person emerged from the White House of an bid directing the acquisition caput to commencement winding down the Education Department. Trump would past telephone connected Congress, which passed authorities successful 1979 to make the agency, to abolish it.

As portion of the aboriginal plans, immoderate acquisition programs could beryllium administered by different national agency, portion others whitethorn beryllium diminished oregon connected the chopping artifact with legislature approval. Already, dozens of national acquisition officials person been placed connected leave, who formerly worked successful offices that disperse funds to K-12 schools oregon enforce civilian rights laws.

On Friday, a radical of U.S. House Democrats, including New York lawmakers, tried to unit a gathering with apical acquisition officials connected the program to dismantle the section but were barred from entering their headquarters.

“Trump and Elon Musk privation to destruct the Department of Education and jeopardize the futures of millions of children, from New York to each country of the country,” Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-New York) said connected X, reposting a video of lawmakers being denied entranceway to the building.

“We won’t fto them get distant with it. Our kids merit better.”

The imaginable bid would travel done connected one of Trump’s run promises and a decades-long propulsion by conservatives to signifier retired the agency, which they judge wastes payer dollars and infringes on local power of nationalist schools.

In summation to the beingness of the department, immoderate of its largest programs were acknowledgment to Congress — including Title I funds for low-income schools and dollars allocated done the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for peculiar education. Both Title I and the disabilities enactment predate the Education Department.

Aaron Pallas, a prof astatine Columbia University’s Teachers College, said the largest stock of national backing New York City schools person is Title I, which gets funneled done the authorities — and to a lesser extent, from the disabilities act.

Last fiscal year, the metropolis received $826 cardinal successful Title I funds and $417 cardinal nether the disabilities act, according to budget documents from the comptroller’s office.

“In theory, the president can’t arbitrarily cancel those awards oregon zero them out,” Pallas said. “They’re ineligible obligations that Congress has committed to, truthful I don’t deliberation the wealth is going to spell away.”

Even if backing streams are moved nether different agencies, Pallas had concerns astir the connection that dismantling the Education Department could send.

“I’ve been comforted implicit the past 45 years having the bully pulpit, a cabinet-level person, who was speaking retired connected behalf of nationalist education,” helium said. “The dismantling of the section and the spreading of its functions crossed different agencies removes that. It weakens a corporate committedness to nationalist acquisition if we don’t person a disposable spokesperson successful the caput of acquisition position.”

Some national backing successful New York City nationalist schools comes from agencies different than the Education Department and would not beryllium straight impacted by immoderate attempts to dismantle it. However, programs tally retired of elsewhere successful the national government, specified arsenic kid attraction and escaped lunch, could look cuts if Trump acts connected a “wish list” of blimpish priorities for his 2nd term.

“Just to springiness a consciousness of the different large ones — due to the fact that they’re not each Department of Education, and immoderate others are named successful Project 2025 — Head Start is different large one,” Emma Vadehra, a lawman chancellor and the district’s main operating officer, said during the hearing. “Child Care and Development Block Grants, and besides schoolhouse nutrient is different large backing watercourse from the national government.”

David Bloomfield, a prof of acquisition instrumentality and argumentation astatine Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, noted unpopular acquisition fund cuts could springiness lawmakers, including Republicans, pause earlier going on with the president.

“The Republicans successful Congress are babelike connected retaining New York Republican seats,” Bloomfield said. “If the GOP is held liable for cuts to schoolhouse backing successful those districts successful New York State, those seats could beryllium successful jeopardy successful 2026.”

But helium encouraged authorities and metropolis lawmakers to beryllium prepared to backfill immoderate mislaid national funds.

“They should beryllium readying for the worst and hoping for the best,” Bloomfield said.

With News wires