Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand mentioned the significance of the U.S. Division of Training at a press convention at P.S. 183 on Feb. 9, 2025.
Picture by Barbara Russo-Lennon
New York’s kids and faculties might lose important providers to assist their academic wants if President Donald Trump and Congress approve the dismantling of the U.S. Division of Training, Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand warned on Sunday.
Over 2.6 million kindergarten by grade 12 college students in almost 5,000 public faculties all through New York stand to lose vital funding if the training division closes, Gillibrand, New York’s junior senator, mentioned throughout a press convention at P.S. 183 on the Higher East Facet.
The senator defined that providers that fall underneath Title 1 may very well be minimize. Title 1 is a federal program that provides supplemental monetary help to colleges and college districts which have a excessive share of low-income households and pay for applications equivalent to particular training, early childhood training, and early intervention providers for college students and infants with disabilities.
She additionally mentioned college students within the state with disabilities might lose almost $1 billion in annual assist. Extracurricular actions is also impacted if the federal training division is slashed.
“You can’t imagine what working families will go through if kids aren’t busy after school and don’t have the support that they need,” Gillibrand mentioned.
Gillibrand mentioned “hundreds, hundreds, and hundreds” of New Yorkers contact her workplace every single day with issues about their kids’s training.
“Since its creation by Congress in 1979, the Department of Education has played a central role in this country by making sure students don’t fall behind their peers; it helps spur economic progress, allows us to stay competitive on the global stage, and allows our economy to have the workers that they need.”
No federal cash = tax hikes in New York
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who additionally attended the press convention, mentioned abolishing the DOE would have a large affect on New York–together with extra taxes.
“This is $5.5 billion that the state receives annually from the Department of Education; $3.2 billion goes directly into our budget,” Hochul mentioned, including that a lot of it additionally goes into localities. “If that money is jeopardized, what I can tell you will happen is if localities lose that money, they will have to raise taxes.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul mentioned taxes will go up if the U.S. Division of Training is minimize.Picture by Barbara Russo-Lennon
Trump’s name for the division’s overhaul comes at a time when scholar studying abilities proceed to fall drastically. The Nationwide Evaluation of Instructional Progress (NAEP), also referred to as the Nation’s Report Card, reveals important declines in studying that aren’t again to pre-pandemic numbers.
In actual fact, final yr, common studying scores on the report declined by two factors for each fourth- and eighth-grade college students in comparison with 2022. This steepens the three-point decline seen in each grades between 2022 from 2019, the report confirmed.
Nonetheless, Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Lecturers, mentioned slicing Title 1 funding will solely make issues worse.
“What Title 1 does is support reading specialists all across NYS to help create and ensure that kids can level up in reading,” she mentioned. “That’s what we’re talking about when say ‘these cuts.’”
What does Trump assist?
An Govt Order that Trump signed on Jan. 29, states that he’ll “support parents in choosing and directing” the upbringing and training of their kids.
“When our public education system fails such a large segment of society, it hinders our national competitiveness and devastates families and communities,” the order states. “For this reason, more than a dozen states have enacted universal K-12 scholarship programs, allowing families, rather than the government, to choose the best educational setting for their children.”
The order alone, nonetheless, can not abolish the U.S. Division of Training. Each homes of Congress should approve laws to take action.
In response to a metropolis Division of Training spokesperson, it’s unclear when or if the proposed federal modifications will affect NYC public faculties.
“We have not received guidance from the federal government about the potential impact on our programs or services and will closely monitor ongoing developments,” the spokesperson mentioned.
