President: Department's demise won't affect funding for key school programs

President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education would eliminate the agency that administers at least $9.3 million in federal aid to St. Mary Parish public schools.
But Trump said as he signed the March 20 executive order that the aid categories representing the bulk of local funding will be “preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and departments.”
According to the St. Mary School Board Central Office, the district receives $11.7 million per year in funding from multiple federal programs.
The two biggest sources are Title I, which funnels resources to schools with a high percentage of students from low-income homes, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which provides money and other resources to educate children with disabilities.
St. Mary receives about $5.8 million under Title 1 and $3.5 million under the disabilities program known as IDEA. Both programs are administered by the federal Department of Education.
The $11.7 million total is equal to about 11% of the $106 million the district spent on instruction and support services in the budget year that ended June 30, according to the school system’s audit report.
Superintendent Dr. Buffy Fegenbush called the funds “essential in providing equitable services to students who need additional academic and emotional support.
“While these resources are allocated to identified students, the broader impact benefits all learners by fostering a strong, more inclusive education environment. The availability of these services enhances the overall success of our students and strengthens our school community as a whole.”
Title I is named for a section of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a 1965 law.
It directs resources to schools where at least 40% of the students come from homes classified as low-income.
The funding can be used for a broad array of initiatives. It can be used to tutor struggling students, add to the salaries of teachers in Title I schools, buy software licenses and laptops, take steps to improve a “school climate,” for staff development and run mental health programs, for example.
IDEA became law a decade later and is central to special education funding.
According to the Department of Education website, IDEA “has pioneered educational opportunity for children with disabilities through its mandate of a free appropriate public education provided in the least restrictive environment — two primary requirements that continue to drive the education of children with disabilities today.”
The president’s executive order begins the work of eliminating the Education Department, but it’s not the final word.
The decision to end the department must come from Congress, which created the agency in 1980 by combining functions that had been performed across the federal government.
Proponents saw the department as a way to improve education opportunities for low-income people, racial and ethnic minorities, and immigrant communities.
But the department has been a long-time target for conservatives. Critics say the federal funding for schools comes with red tape and bureaucratic oversight.
They say the department usurps the authority of local school boards.
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, has said he will introduce legislation to achieve Trump’s goal of shutting down the department.
“I agree with President Trump that the Department of Education has failed its mission,” Cassidy posted last week on X, formerly Twitter.