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President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday abolishing the U.S. Department of Education. While many key programs remain unchanged, hundreds of millions of federal dollars are at stake in Alaska if the order disrupts funding.
The recent executive order is part of the Trump Administration’s long-term plan to get rid of the federal department. It currently funds special education and other programs that support rural and high poverty schools. It also makes sure all students are receiving fair public education.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development Commissioner Deena Bishop attended the executive order signing in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, as first reported by the Anchorage Daily News.
“I truly believe that with more state and local control, Alaskans can better determine how education resources are allocated and focus on what is most beneficial for our students and their futures,” Bishop said in a written statement.
She did not describe how the state would take on the responsibilities of the federal agency. A DEED spokesperson declined an interview request from KTOO.
The federal department manages millions that fund programs that benefit Alaska’s students and schools, and monitors the quality of services. Alaska receives the most federal funding per student in the country. Trump says many of the programs and funding will stay in place nationally.
But Juneau School Board member Will Muldoon said he’s concerned about the lack of guidance on navigating the changes in the short term.
“I haven’t gotten any kind of roadmap,” he said. “And I think that’s always scary too, because education is a big ship, so burning it, changing it – it takes a while.”
Special education is largely funded and supported by the federal department. The Juneau School District reports that 878 students are receiving special education services this school year.
Muldoon said he’s concerned that changes to the department could make navigating the system for students with disabilities and their families more difficult.
“People don’t go to school and graduate and get a degree to be an advocate for their child. It shouldn’t be a job,” he said.
The department does more than fund special education. The federal agency also helps fund schools with high numbers of students whose families are experiencing poverty, called Title I schools. There are five Title I schools in Juneau.
Amanda Duvall is the federal programs coordinator for the district. She said every Title I school in the district used the federal funds to hire another teacher this year.
“That is always up for discussion every year,” Duvall said. “But the reality is most of them find that additional teacher at these high class sizes is helpful.”
She said these federal funds stack on top of what goes toward general funds for the district, which mainly come from the state and local level. Duvall said insufficient state funding makes federal support critical.
“We are heavily grant dependent and grateful for all of our various partners in the community, and this federal funding allows schools to deepen knowledge for their teachers, to have cohesive opportunities for their students, provide additional experiences that we all value,” she said.
The Department Education also manages nearly $46 million in financial aid for University of Alaska students.
University of Alaska President Pat Pitney said in a message sent to the entire university system Thursday that there are no immediate changes for students. She wrote that the university will continue pushing for federal financial aid.
“Advocating for federal student aid funding remains a top priority for the UA system regardless of what changes happen at certain federal departments or agencies,” Pitney wrote. “Federal student aid is a vital component of ensuring access and affordability for students across the State of Alaska.”
More than half of the students at the University of Alaska Southeast receive federal aid. UAS Chancellor Aparna Palmer said administrators are monitoring any changes, but she encourages students to continue applying for federal aid.
“As far as I can tell, in the short term, we don’t expect to have any large impacts to our operations or to our ability to offer students federal financial aid or their Pell grants,” she said.
Despite the executive order, only Congress can abolish the Department of Education. Whether lawmakers decide to follow the president’s lead remains to be seen.
