Trump has proposed what is being labeled a “skinny budget” with intense cuts (more than $8 billion) for the US Department of Education. Here are some questions that my colleagues and I have pondered regarding the impact on all levels of education, education professionals, and most importantly children and adult students. Feel free to comment with responses as well as additional questions. More information on the budget cuts can be found here NPR On Trump’s Skinny Budget
1. How will the “private school choice program” impact public K-12 schools across the nation?
2. What will be the impact for charter schools?
3. How will the decrease in Pell Grant funding at the Higher Education level impact current college students, perspective college students, families of college students, and colleges and universities?
4. How will the $1 billion funding for Title I impact the high-poverty schools that it is “intended” to support?
5. How will the the cuts to after-school programs impact children, parents, and families?
6. How will the cuts to teacher professional development impact teachers, schools, and students?
1. expect it to be negative since DeVoss has no interest in keeping public schools around.
2. expect charter schools to grow exponentially as they drain all the money and students out of poorer neighborhoods.
3. yes, pell grants are an essential part of undergraduate education, especially since every little bit helps.
4. ?
5. it will make it harder for children to eat.
6. it will make it harder for teachers to teach. It reduces the incentive to stay within the profession in places where it is more challenging to teach.