Justin Burns, a special education teacher at Virginia Beach’s Newtown Elementary, worries that his students won’t get what they need if special education programs are removed from the U.S. Department of Education, especially if federal dollars are cut or delayed.
“That type of strain is what's going to lead to the teacher burnout that we've been seeing, the shortage that we all know that's there,” he said. “These policies are really going to impact impoverished communities and kids who are Black and brown and come from minority communities, families.”
Trump on Thursday signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to start closing the department. On Friday, he announced “special needs” programs would move to the Department of Health and Human Services and federal student loans to the Small Business Administration.
Trump’s order comes a week after his administration announced layoffs reducing the education department by nearly half. Hundreds under Health and Human Services received termination letters in February and the Small Business Administration announced plans to cut its workforce by more than 40% last week.
Congress created the department in 1979 to enforce students’ civil rights, conduct education research, manage college loans and financial aid, track student achievement and send money to public schools.
As of 2023, about 11% of Virginia’s school funding, amounting to $2.4 billion, comes from the federal government. The amount varies by locality.
Billions support special education and schools in rural areas or with higher numbers of students from low-income families. Funds for preschool and breakfast and lunch programs come through the Health and Human Services and Agriculture departments.
The Trump administration said statutory programs mandated by law will continue to be delivered.
Newport News Chief Financial Officer Scarlett Minto and York County Schools Superintendent Victor Shandor said they’ve not received word from the state that funds will be affected.
But some educators question if cuts or funding delays are just around the corner as layoffs hit the department. Also, the president threatens to withhold money from schools that don’t terminate "the instruction, advancement, or promotion of gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology."
Willie Green, a history, economics, and physics teacher at Kings Fork Middle School in Suffolk, is concerned that the history curriculum will change.
“To not talk about slavery or to not talk about the impact that the sharecroppers – the slaves, the indentured servants – had on the country, it then will make our history a lie,” he said. “You're going to have students that know that there are holes in the history being taught.”
Moriah Wrenn-Sandkulla, a history teacher at Churchland Middle School in Portsmouth, worried about federal funds that she said would level the playing field.
“The richer states and richer counties and cities are going to have kids who are more well-rounded, whereas lower-income students and lower-income cities and states are going to fall behind.”
Green reassures concerned students by telling them, “We’re going to ride this thing out together.”
The White House said in a Thursday statement that the education department burdens schools with regulations and paperwork and has done little to improve student achievement since its founding.
According to data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or The Nation’s Report Card, average reading scores have changed slightly over the past 30 years. Math scores have notably improved. Both have dropped on average since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 30-year trend was similar in Virginia, but the drop-off since COVID-19 was among the worst in the nation. Average reading scores in the commonwealth as of 2024 are lower than in the 1990s. Math scores, while down since 2019, remain higher than in 1992.
The education department doesn’t usually tell schools how or what to teach. Curriculum is set by school districts and their state, district or territorial government.
Secretary McMahon acknowledged in her confirmation hearing that only Congress can eliminate the department. Attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia sued McMahon and Trump this month over departmental layoffs, calling them “an unlawful violation of the separation of powers.”
Gov. Glenn Youngkin in a Thursday statement said Virginia is ready to take full responsibility for K-12 education. Virginia Board of Education President Grace Creasey joined the governor in lauding Trump’s order.
“Returning decision-making authority and funding to the states can foster innovation, accountability and better educational outcomes,” Creasey said.
Heather Sipe, president of the Virginia Beach Education Association, said she understands the need to streamline, but the federal government is being reckless.
“To come in and just slash and cut and move things to other departments that are already running inefficiently is not the way to get things done properly,” she said. “Our children are going to be the ones that get hurt in this process.”
