On November 18, the U.S. Department of Education announced a set of interagency agreements to transfer core education functions to other federal agencies, including the Department of Labor. In response, the Partnership for College Completion releases the following statement:
The Trump administration announced its latest–and arguably most dangerous–actions to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education (ED). By recklessly and unnecessarily shirking responsibility of the ED’s core functions and shifting them to other federal departments, Secretary McMahon risks much of the good our higher education system has done and should do. This attempt to “break up federal bureaucracy” is a direct threat to the strength, accessibility, and integrity of our education system for students in our state and nationwide. It will disrupt critical functions including grant distribution, diminish student protections, and almost surely allow administration of key programs to fall through the bureaucratic cracks these agreements are supposedly intended to eliminate.
Workforce development is an important function of education–but not the only one. Education is a social foundation to promote and protect democratic engagement; uplift communities through economic mobility opportunities; and fuel research and innovation for the good of society.
Higher education is a public good. Dismantling the very department responsible for safeguarding its promise will deepen inequities for students across Illinois, and place the nation’s future competitiveness at risk. We must reject this administration’s plans, and instead work to strengthen support at all levels for colleges and universities, and the students who rely on them.