Volume 61, Issue 1
Eliminating U.S. Department of Education will Cost Kentucky Students & Schools more than $1 Billion a Year in Federal Funds
Click here to see how much it could cost your school district
At any minute, President Donald Trump could issue an executive order aimed at dismantling the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) , throwing federal funding for Kentucky’s public schools up in the air for the remainder of this school year and future funding in question. Currently, Kentucky receives $1 from the federal government for every $5 it spends on public education and is one of only six states that receives 20% or more of its education funding from the federal government. In 2023-2024, Kentucky received $1.9 billion in federal funding for education, accounting for nearly 28% of total funding.
In Kentucky and across the nation, ninety percent of U.S. students and 95% of students with disabilities learn in our public schools. Students benefit from programs run by the Department of Education, especially lower-income students in rural, suburban, and urban communities, students who qualify for federal grants or loans to receive career training or attend 2- and 4-year colleges, and students with disabilities.
Here’s what Kentucky stands to lose, according to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy:
- School meals: $466 million.The National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, funded through the U. S. Department of Agriculture, reimburse schools for a portion of meal costs with higher reimbursements for low-income kids. Under what is known as the Community Eligibility Provision, all students in 89% of Kentucky schools are eligible for free meals as a result.
- Title I funds for low-income students: $274 million.Title 1 dollars support education for kids in high poverty schools. Funds can go to pay teachers, promote parent engagement, operate afterschool programs, fund mentoring and counseling, and provide other services. Over 70% of Kentucky schools are eligible for Title I funding.
- IDEA funding for special education: $182 million.These funds help support the extra costs of special education and services for kids with disabilities, including preschool. Dollars can be used to hire and train special education teachers, provide assistive equipment and therapy services, and support specialized transportation, among other costs.
- Title II funds for teacher training: $42 million.These grants can be used for professional development, training school leaders, advancing educators along career paths, and other uses that improve teacher quality.
- Title IV funds for student support and academic enrichment: $35 million.These funds help support a well-rounded education, such as through art and music programs, career and technical education, and foreign languages; promote safety and health through interventions like mental health services and anti-bullying programs; and fund the effective use of technology.
- Grants from the DOE to Kentucky districts total $546 millionthis year (not counting the $466 million in school meals funding, which comes from USDA), supporting the employment of approximately 4,546 teachers, counselors and other school employees across the commonwealth. Click here to see how much it could cost your school district in federal funds
Kentucky educators, parents, and voters expect elected officials to prioritize funding our public schools, and they spoke loud and clear at the ballot box. Constitutional Amendment 2, which would have allowed taxpayer dollars to be spent on private school vouchers, was defeated by a 2 to 1 margin across the Commonwealth and lost on the ballot in every one of Kentucky’s 171 school districts. But support for public schools doesn’t end at Kentucky’s borders: families across the country support strong public schools because they understand students need more opportunities, more resources, and greater protections, not less. In fact, nearly 60 percent of voters support prioritizing public education funding over tax cuts, according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll
Last November, Americans didn’t vote to eliminate the DOE. Today, they don’t support abolishing it. More than half of voters surveyed—58 percent—don’t want to see the Education Department nixed, compared to 29 percent who support getting rid of the department, the poll found.
More Democrats oppose eliminating the DOE than Republicans, but there is strong support among both parties. Some 44% of Republicans surveyed support maintaining the department, while 76% of Democrats want to keep it. (The poll was conducted by Lake Research Partners, a Democratic polling organization, and the Tarrance Group, a Republican polling firm.)
Those who support dismantling the DOE use phrases like “back to the states” to obscure the fact that students—especially lower-income students in rural, suburban, and urban communities and students with disabilities—will lose big. “Educators will not and cannot be silent as anti-public education interest groups and politicians try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities,” said KEA President Eddie Campbell. “Here in Kentucky and across the country, working closely with parents and allies, we will continue to organize, advocate and fight so all students have the resources they need at school and every child can reach their full potential.”