--- title: Gutting the Department of Education Hurts All Americans description: Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education "is tantamount to us doing our enemies’ work for them," writes Miguel Cardona. canonical: https://time.com/7303430/gutting-department-education-hurts-americans/ author: Miguel Cardona article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-07-21T10:15:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:58.238Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Gutting the Department of Education Hurts All Americans og:description: Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education would be a "horrific mistake" writes Miguel Cardona. og:url: https://time.com/7303430/gutting-department-education-hurts-americans/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt292b472410dcd0e6/6998c85dd32e930e44cd72f6/Miguel-Cardona.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Gutting the Department of Education Hurts All Americans twitter:description: Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education would be a "horrific mistake" writes Miguel Cardona. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt292b472410dcd0e6/6998c85dd32e930e44cd72f6/Miguel-Cardona.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Former Education Secretary: Gutting the Department of Education Hurts All Americans > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=456423bb-e4f8-45a0-8f17-18fbf448adb7&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: This Education Department Official Lost His Job. Here’s What He Says Is at Risk [Watch (HLS stream): This Education Department Official Lost His Job. Here’s What He Says Is at Risk](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QFqj7C4X.m3u8) (4:38)  _Published 2025-07-17. Fewer teachers. Incomplete data. Delays in addressing problems and getting financial aid information. Those are just some of the impacts Jason Cottrell, who worked as a data collector at the Department of Education for nine and a half years before being laid off along with more than a thousand other agency employees, warns the Trump Administration’s massive cuts to the department’s funding and workforce could have on the country’s education system._ by [Miguel Cardona](https://time.com/author/miguel-cardona/) ## Miguel Cardona Cardona is President of Cardona Solutions, a lifelong educator, and the former U.S. Secretary of Education. Jul 21, 2025 10:15 AM UTC  Former Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona during a daily press briefing at the White House in 2023. Former Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona during a daily press briefing at the White House in 2023. Demetrius Freeman—The Washington Post/Getty Images by [Miguel Cardona](https://time.com/author/miguel-cardona/) ## Miguel Cardona Cardona is President of Cardona Solutions, a lifelong educator, and the former U.S. Secretary of Education. Jul 21, 2025 10:15 AM UTC Whether I view it from my perspective as a school teacher, school principal, district leader, State Commissioner of Education, or Secretary of Education for the United States, I see actions to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education to be a horrific mistake. And the [Supreme Court’s decision](https://time.com/7302570/trump-education-constitutional-amendment/) to defer to the President, much like half of Congress did, will have decades worth of [negative impact](https://time.com/7261667/eliminating-department-of-education-resegregate-schools/) for students in our country. The Education Department is first and foremost a civil rights agency, protecting access to education for students with disabilities and students who have historically been underserved by our schools in the US. These dismantling efforts will disproportionately harm the very communities that supported the election of this administration most, such as rural communities in the Midwest, and farmland communities that don’t have the same school options that larger districts have for their students. These districts depend on federal funding for basic educational needs and will suffer the greatest impact. And this painful irony mirrors how rushed immigration policies hurt the rural farmers who rely on hardworking undocumented farmworkers, and now treat them like criminals. In times of war, opposing countries seek to destroy the educational, scientific, and technological institutions of their enemies. This weakens their ability to educate, create, and grow. The dismantling of the Department of Education, and the tacit approval by Congress and the courts, is tantamount to us doing our enemies’ work for them. **_Read More:_** [**_Public Education Makes Economic Sense_**](https://time.com/7279404/public-education-makes-economic-sense/) The Supreme Court's decision prevents the Department of Education from meeting its congressionally mandated requirements to distribute funds the way Congress approved them. Currently, The Department of Education has withheld [over $6 billion](https://www.npr.org/2025/07/14/nx-s1-5467251/trump-school-education-grants-lawsuit) of funding to districts in order to provide additional review of their intended use of the dollars. While this sounds like an extra measure to ensure alignment with the priorities of this administration, it will ultimately stall the distribution of congressionally approved funds—and raises new questions. Without a staff, who will ensure these funds are distributed by the approved deadline? And will the same delays impact higher education as well? Universities that openly disagree with the policies of the current administration are being [targeted for funding cuts](https://time.com/7278236/university-funding-trump-harvard-cornell-northwestern-brown-princeton-penn-columbia/). If this is the current administration’s approach, will districts with voters who did not support the President experience the same targeted funding cuts? And above all, what happened to giving control back to the states? It seems to me, as someone who once sat in the decision-making seat, that the Federal government is currently exerting an outsized role in the decisions that are being made in the classroom. When I served as Secretary, I made clear that curriculum decisions belonged to states and local communities, not Washington bureaucrats. Congress is absolving itself of its most important responsibilities to hold the Department of Education accountable to fund, execute, and monitor the programs they approved. By agreeing that the executive branch can cut the department by up to 50%, the Supreme Court essentially affirms that it is ok that they do not have the capacity to execute on the congressional requirements. As a result, superintendents across the country are trying to figure out which programs to cut. They must balance their budget every year, and cannot program without the promised money and the lack of clarity on whether they will actually receive the money from the federal government. Summer programs, afterschool programs, tutoring support, and special education services are being cut right now because of the Administration’s decision to dismantle the Department of Education. Without a clear budget, school leaders cannot plan to hire the support our students need across the country. This is happening now. Every district will feel the ramifications in September and those with greater need will feel it most because they rely more on the federal dollars and protections. **_Read More:_** [**_We Need a Constitutional Amendment to Protect Education_**](https://time.com/7302570/trump-education-constitutional-amendment/) Take, for instance, the administration’s efforts to haphazardly reduce the Department’s staff by [50%](https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-initiates-reduction-force)—as well as the Federal Student Aid (FSA) office. The FSA office currently manages $1.6 trillion in student loans and it is already short-staffed. Systems analysts for the FSA are tasked with ensuring that higher education funds reach students, reducing fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer dollars. Their oversight prevents funds from being misused and ensures that students receive the benefits Congress intended. On Monday, the Supreme Court greenlit the elimination of their work. Eliminating roles such as these will hurt millions of students who rely on student loans and grants to earn a college degree. And though well-off students may be able to afford higher education without loans, those who are not will pay the biggest price. And then there are the departments that provide the research and data to ensure best practices are replicated in schools. These leading experts help communicate how best to support students across the country. They fund research that helped solve educational issues and ensure education in this country was cutting edge. Without the support of the research and data collection departments, what chance do we have to improve our education system and our international competitiveness? Despite all this, I am optimistic about the future of our country. Because I was a teacher first, I know that educators and education leaders signed up to serve children—and our country. We don’t become educators for the money, public respect, or because of some directive from Washington DC. We sign up to help kids. For this reason, I never bet against American educators, parents, and leaders who are committed to improving our schools and weathering whatever storm comes their way. We did it five years ago in the face of a pandemic, and we will do it again. This is bigger than politics. This is about what’s right for our kids and what’s best for our country. We share the mission to serve our students the best we can. We take that role seriously and we have no plans to abandon our posts. ## Transcript We were a little nervous as to to what was actually happening. And then they of course, they appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. And I think a lot of us kind of saw the writing on the wall. On June 27th, when the Casa decision came down, you know, that that was a big that was a really big day as well for this, because I think at that point we kind of knew what this, uh, this court was going to do for, for Donald Trump. And that was that was a rough day for a lot of us. And I, we just kind of were waiting, waiting, waiting. And of course, you know, on Monday the the decision came down that they were going to stay the injunction, um, and essentially allow them to move forward with riffing us. And at that point, I think a lot of folks started to realize, like, what it actually meant. It wasn't just about not going back to work, it was about actually kind of tearing apart the department. And, you know, for us, you know, anybody who was following the case, they were seeing the reports from Rachel Oglesby, the chief of staff. And, you know, it was noted at one point that they were working on the memorandums of understanding between agencies to essentially start shifting duties. And I think a lot of us at that point knew that they were they're serious about actually dismantling the department. And, you know, moving moving resources around and essentially eliminating some of the many of the programs really of of student access and success from the department. Um, that really make a difference in students and families lives. And that was I think that that was the hardest part, I think for me is at that point it's like, okay, well, I knew that at some point this was going to happen, but I didn't really realize, like the the national impact until, you know, you start reading through these documents that they had submitted, um, that essentially were going to eliminate the department with funding being cut, it's going to reduce the number of teachers. It's going to, um, reduce the ability for us to make evidence based change that we need. When parents have concerns, who do they reach out to? um, if there's nobody in those offices, it's going to be the delays and things. And so it's not going to be as easy to call federal student aid to find out what your the status of your Fafsa is. Um, they're cutting contractors. And so what is what is that look like when it comes to, um, processing pieces of work? Um, data collections are going to be very difficult for educators, especially from the post-secondary lens. But, you know, also from the state and local lens, where, um, agencies are trying to report their statistics to the department. If you have a question, you're not going to be able to get an answer right away because there's no staff there. Um, civil rights complaints, I think that. That's what I'm extremely fearful of. Um, you know, when you have family and friends of students with disabilities who may not be able to get in contact with OCR to make complaints, um, that their, their school district are doing things, um, that is harmful. And so you, you really reflect on, on those little pieces. It's going to be rough. Um, and I think some of these things, they're going to feel immediately. But I also think that there are a lot of things that they're not going to experience until 2 or 3 years from now. I mean, data collections, for example, at the higher ed level, stuff that you start reporting on this fall won't be finalized for two years typically. And so it's going to be a delay. Um, you know, we're just now seeing some of the the data that are coming out of what happened during those Covid years, the 2020, um, 21 school year, um, the 21, 22 school year. And now that we're three years out, those data are showing up and we can see what those changes were. And so we're not going to know what the impact of these cuts are going to be in a lot of ways until this administration is gone. And how do we rebuild that. And you know, what does fix it 2029 look like? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7303430/gutting-department-education-hurts-americans/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7303430/gutting-department-education-hurts-americans/"},"headline":"Former Education Secretary: Gutting the Department of Education Hurts All Americans","datePublished":"2025-07-21T10:15:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:49:58.238Z","description":"Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education \"is tantamount to us doing our enemies’ work for them,\" writes Miguel Cardona.","url":"https://time.com/7303430/gutting-department-education-hurts-americans/","keywords":["Education"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt292b472410dcd0e6/6998c85dd32e930e44cd72f6/Miguel-Cardona.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Miguel Cardona","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/miguel-cardona/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt292b472410dcd0e6/6998c85dd32e930e44cd72f6/Miguel-Cardona.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre","caption":"White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre","creditText":"Demetrius Freeman—The Washington Post/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/education/","name":"Education"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7303430/gutting-department-education-hurts-americans/","name":"Former Education Secretary: Gutting the Department of Education Hurts All Americans"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"This Education Department Official Lost His Job. 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