Friday, March 28, 2025
As the Trump administration plans to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, the New York state government and schools — including the Rockville Centre school district — are reacting.
District Superintendent Matt Gaven said it would be “premature” to take a stance as information is still being rolled out.
“Congress established the department through law, so I would imagine the legislative branch would need to weigh in as well,” Gaven said. “In addition, the specific details of President Trump’s plan to dissolve the Department of Education have yet to be revealed.”
State officials, however, are speaking out against the administration’s plans, calling the proposed cuts antithetical to a longstanding commitment to educational equity and inclusion.
In a statement posted on the State Education Department website on Feb. 3, the state Board of Regents and the department expressed their opposition to executive actions aimed at shrinking the size of the Education Department, an initiative pushed by Trump administration officials and backed by influential figures like billionaire Elon Musk.
The state officials emphasized that New York’s Constitution guarantees a system of public education “wherein all the children of this state may be educated.” That promise has been reinforced by landmark federal legislation such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during his “War on Poverty,” and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which protects the educational rights of people with disabilities.
“These laws recognize and celebrate personal, social, and economic differences,” the statement reads. “They are models of strength through diversity.”
The Trump administration is weighing an executive order to shut down functions of the Department of Education not explicitly mandated by law, or transfer them to other agencies. The order would also propose a legislative push to abolish the department entirely, an action that would fulfill one of Trump’s campaign promises, to reduce federal oversight of education and grant more control to the states.
The Department of Education, created in 1979, during President Jimmy Carter’s administration, is tasked with overseeing critical federal education programs, including grants for low-income students, civil rights protections and the administration of federal student loans.
Critics of the department have long argued that federal involvement in education should be minimized. Conservative voices have called for the department’s elimination, and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 also denounces the department.
Other New York state officials, like newly elected State Sen. Siela Bynoe, who represents Rockville Centre and surrounding communities, are focused on improving education. Bynoe, who served on the Westbury school district Board of Education for two terms before beginning her political career, previously told the Herald that she advocates for behavioral and mental health initiatives in school districts — efforts that could feel the impact of the administration’s plans.
Funding and contracts for the DOE have already been cut, with the newly created Department of Government Efficiency announcing the termination of training grants for diversity, equity and inclusion worth $101 million in a post on X post on Feb. 10.
Recent pools, however, show widespread opposition to such cuts. A Wall Street Journal poll published on Jan. 17 found that 61 percent of registered voters oppose eliminating the Education Department, with most preferring to protect education funding over other budget priorities like tax cuts.
In their statement, New York state officials reaffirmed their commitment to “the inherent dignity and worth of every child,” and condemned Trump’s potential executive order.
“We denounce the intolerant rhetoric of these orders,” they said. “Our children cannot thrive in an environment of chaos; they need steady and stable leadership that we will endeavor to provide.”
