There’s been a lot of national handwringing over the recent scores from the Nation’s Report Card, which revealed declining reading and math scores and stalling post-pandemic recovery efforts. The message is clear: our nation’s students need more supports and resources, especially against the backdrop of a literacy crisis that’s already causing irreversible damage to students. That means investing in comprehensive education research and development efforts that identify proven strategies and interventions for improving learning outcomes.

Instead, the Trump administration is working to dismantle the Department of Education — which protects students from discrimination, fosters student achievement, ensures a free public education for all — including students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and students from low-income backgrounds. The Department of Ed also removes barriers that prevent students from attending and completing college by providing federal financial aid, such as Pell Grants and loans.

Continuing its ongoing assault on public education was the administration’s decision on Thursday night to eliminate roughly $350 million for the Regional Education Laboratories (RELs), a program within the beleaguered Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Authorized by the Education Sciences Reform Act, RELs operate across the country and play important roles for states and districts, including conducting research to identify effective strategies for improving student outcomes, disseminating credible, up-to-date research to state and district policymakers, and providing training and support that helps educators implement effective practices in their classrooms. For example:

• Regional Educational Laboratory West, which services Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah, provides leadership and resources to support bilingual and multilingual students, and supports educators’ use of high-quality research and evidence-based interventions to improve students’ achievement. Over the last cycle, REL West has successfully improved education and health outcomes for our youngest learners, improved literacy instruction, and used data to strengthen cross-sector college and career planning.
• Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest, which serves Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, works to raise awareness of effective interventions for American Indian and Alaska Native students. It also supports specific state efforts, such as improving early literacy learning for kindergarten readiness in Idaho, assisting Montana school districts to use data and differentiated instruction to increase student literacy, partnering with Oregon stakeholders to support efforts to increase high school graduation rates, and more.
• Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast, which serves Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina, works in partnership with states, districts, and schools to employ data on how to improve learning outcomes. For example, Mississippi employed the REL’s research around the “science of reading” and improved their ranking in reading proficiency from 49th to 21st in the nation.

Earlier this week, the unelected Elon Musk and his unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) minions announced the elimination of a host of additional activities at IES, which plays a crucial role in evaluating the effectiveness of federal education initiatives, overseeing the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), and funding research that drives innovation and improvement in schools, colleges, and local communities. DOGE eliminated 89 IES contracts that were designed to help districts, schools, and educators improve learning outcomes for our nation’s students. Among the cuts were:

• Studies examining the effectiveness of teacher recruitment and retention programs
• Research on addressing the early-literacy crisis for our youngest learners
• Professional development and training for educators on crucial topics such as math and literacy
• Research on the effectiveness of transition programs for students with disabilities exiting high school into college, work, or independent living

Terminating myriad IES contracts and RELs, gutting critical functions such as the What Works Clearinghouse — which helps equip educators and schools with evidence-based interventions and supports to improve student learning — and the National Center for Education Statistics — which compiles reliable and objective data and conducts longitudinal studies and surveys on the state of public education — will only make it harder for educators, parents and decision-makers to track student and school performance. The work of IES isn’t wasteful or fraudulent — it’s essential research that guides states, school districts, and educators in making data-backed decisions, assessing the impacts of various education programs and interventions, and more effectively supporting student learning. At a time when research and evidence should be guiding principles in addressing the challenges we face, the Trump administration has abandoned research and reason for political theater.

The administration’s justification for these actions is ostensibly to cut costs and root out waste. But don’t be fooled. It’s part of the administration’s broader crusade to eradicate diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) and accessibility programs, which, despite their outsized importance, have become this administration’s scapegoats for all that’s wrong in America.

But beneath the political posturing and culture war obsession lies a more sinister truth: These actions are yet another step in a systematic, calculated, and carefully planned attack on public education. Just look at their actions. Since assuming the presidency, the Trump administration has seized every opportunity to attack, denigrate, and undermine our nation’s public schools:

• Trump nominated Linda McMahon to be Secretary of Education, in spite of, or rather because of her stated commitment to advancing school vouchers and privatization and dismantling and crippling the Department’s core functions and responsibilities, including vigorously protecting students civil rights through the Office for Civil Rights, and distributing services and supports for our nation’s most underserved students.
• Trump has issued a deluge of executive orders and actions that promote privatization of our nation’s public schools and attempt to unconstitutionally freeze federal funding for thousands of programs that support students and families. This has caused widespread panic, fear, and disruptions to important services for communities across the country.
• Trump is planning to unveil an executive order to eliminate the Department, an action taken directly from the Project 2025 playbook that would have devastating consequences for millions of underserved students. Under Project 2025, they also advocate to drain public funds for public schools by eliminating Title I, undermining the Department’s crucial role as a watchdog for federal civil rights protections, and undercutting its ability to administer federal student aid to millions of college students.

Make no mistake. The Department’s actions aren’t about addressing failing schools or improving educational outcomes for struggling kids. It’s time we start calling this what it is: A longstanding effort to destroy public education and perpetuate a system that benefits a privileged few at the expense of underserved students — including students of color, students with disabilities, rural students, and students from low-income backgrounds.

And what’s more wasteful than throwing our students’ futures away?