Following President Donald Trump’s executive order last week to dismantle the Department of Education, public school systems nationwide have experienced concern over its potential effects.
Administrators from Princeton Public Schools (PPS) raised concerns about the possible loss of about $1.3 million in federal funding — around two percent of the district’s budget — from sources administered by the department, including the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The Department of Education currently oversees the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) which “directs programs designed to meet the needs and develop the full potential of children with disabilities.”
Trump has said that he wants to move special education programs to the Department of Health and Human Services — a department which began mass layoffs on Tuesday morning. Regardless, OSERS administers several initiatives that could be at risk, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which assists in allocating grants to state education programs for technical and developmental assistance for students with disabilities.
President of the Princeton Board of Education (BOE) Dafna Kendal told The Daily Princetonian that “parents are concerned, especially those that are receiving some services that are funded by the federal government, mainly special education. They’re just concerned that their children’s services will be affected.”
Matt Bouldin, the business administrator for PPS, identified the potential loss of IDEA funding as the district’s primary concern. According to Bouldin, PPS receives slightly more than $1 million each year in IDEA funding from the Department of Education, which helps cover “out-of-district” special education tuition.
IDEA provided around $14 billion to state education programs last year. Both Trump and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon both said that they would like to maintain the budget for special education.
Bouldin noted that the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which contributes roughly $300,000 to PPS annually, may also be at risk.
Under the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) ESSA provisions, funds must only be allocated to certain programs that advance equity, support local educational innovation, expand access to high-quality preschool programs, and ensure spending goes to the schools “in need of the most support and resources.”
“We’re not allowed to use those [funds] to supplement regular spending that’s been written into [ESSA] for decades now, and so we don’t think that’s going to go away,” Bouldin commented. “We hope it doesn’t, because it helps, but it wouldn’t be as big of an impact as IDEA.”
Beyond funding concerns, Kendal explained that the Education Department’s new ‘EndDEI’ report form is also likely to be a significant problem. This form allows parents, students, and others to report “divisive ideologies and indoctrination.”
Kendal warned that this reporting mechanism may cause a “chilling of speech” within the classroom, raising concerns over parents targeting marginalized communities. “We do have some parents that complain about…[how] we have books that talk about children who are part of the LGBTQ+ community,” she noted.
PPS Interim Superintendent Kathleen Foster shared with the ‘Prince’ that open communication will remain a top priority as PPS monitors the effects of the dismantling. PPS currently holds parent informational nights and BOE member meetings where there is an active “exchange and dialogue” between parents and administrators, according to Foster.
“We are in really good financial shape for a public school system,” Kim Tew, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, told the ‘Prince.’
One point of relief, Tew described, is that “there’s no explicit message messaging about education in our federal Constitution; it lies in the state’s hands.” As a result, PPS follows the standards and mandates of New Jersey and thus receives a majority of its funding from local taxpayers and state aid.
“A very, very small piece of the pie comes from the federal aid,” Tew explained. It’s about 2 percent of the budget, according to Kendal.
Kendal expressed that the loss of federal aid would be more impactful on other districts.
“A million dollars is a lot of money, but it’s not catastrophic to the extent other districts could be impacted.”
PPS is currently also engaged in a five-year strategic plan with the University, which is providing over $14.6 million to PPS. This funding will not be affected in any way as a result of the dismantling of the Department of Education and will remain a steady form of funding for PPS, according to Bouldin.
“It is not going to impact what we are steadfastly committed to, which is excellent education for all of our students, and we will continue to do this in any way possible,” Foster said.
Luke Grippo is a senior News writer and Features contributor for the ‘Prince.’ He is from South Jersey and usually covers administrative issues, including Undergraduate Student Government, the Council of the Princeton University Community, and institutional legacy.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Correction: A previous version of this article said that Dafna Kendal supports the Education Department’s new report form. In fact, Kendal has concerns that the form may chill freedom of speech within the classroom. The ‘Prince’ regrets this error.