Two important developments targeting the Department of Education have the potential to significantly weaken the federal government’s sway over public education. One has already been set into motion following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent overruling of a key precedent set in place 40 years ago that has significantly molded how the Department of Education functions today. The other wholly depends on a Trump victory in the presidential election later this year.
Overruling Chevron deference
A recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court has effectively overturned an important precedent that may fundamentally hinder the Department of Education’s ability to implement regulatory changes, handle students’ discriminatory complaints and ramp up college oversight, current and former department staffers told USA Today.
The 1984 ruling set the rulemaking standard coined “Chevron deference,” which involved federal judges deferring interpretation of a complicated, often ambiguously written law, to a government agency with relevant expertise on the topic, such as the Department of Education. However, the Court effectively buried this important precedent in its recent ruling on Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, reinstating the judicial branch’s power.
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As a result, federal regulations, such as Biden’s recent gainful employment rule and Title IX implementation, could be significantly weakened. Similarly, the Biden administration’s attempt to forgive Americans’ student loans would be impossible as well.
“President Biden’s proposal for student loan forgiveness involves significant interpretation of the statute,” Mark Kantrowitz, a higher education expert, told CNBC. “This makes it more vulnerable to legal challenge.”
Will Project 2025 come into play?
A 900-page manuscript written by conservative think tank Heritage Foundation has outlined an ambitious plan to overhaul key areas of the federal government to increase the power of presidential nominee Donald Trump if he were to win in the fall. The 2025 Presidential Transition Project, nicknamed Project 2025, described eliminating the regulatory power of the Department of Education and its control over federal funding, Forbes writes.
The manuscript suggests handing over federal funding to the states. Consequently, Title I funding, which is responsible for setting aside money for underresourced students, would be nullified and converted into no-strings block grants to states. Moreover, agencies within the department would cease to exist; discriminatory complaints reviewed by the Office of Civil Rights would move to the Department of Justice, and college loans handled by the Federal Student Aid office would be privatized. Consequently, income-driven repayment plans recently enacted by Biden would be phased out.
Other key implementations include axing federal initiatives involving “sexual orientation and identity; “diversity, equity and inclusion;” and “reproductive rights,” and providing parents more latitude to sue an institution if they perceive that their child is being mistreated.
“If implemented, [Project 2025] would visit considerable disruption to our public education system, which is, of course, the point,” Peter Greene, a K12 policy expert, writes in Forbes.
Trump, however, has distanced himself from the Heritage Foundation’s efforts despite close allies being attached to the initiative, per NPR.
