Media Contact
Damien Sharp
Trump has pledged to dissolve the Department of Education, and while many are speculating about how that would impact education in America, it’s not clear if the changes will have much impact on K-12 public schools, given the limited role of the federal government in funding and operating them, says a Cornell University professor.
Maria Fitzpatrick, whose research focuses on child and family policy, with a particular interest in the economics of education, says it’s more likely that the kinds of changes to curriculum Trump is advocating for will be implemented by states.
Maria Fitzpatrick
Professor; Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
“At the K-12, the ability of the federal government to impact public school curricula and classroom lessons is constrained by the fact that the federal government provides only ~10 percent of total revenue for elementary and secondary education. Much of this money is distributed for programs like Title I and School Lunch Program, which are only indirectly tied to curricula, if at all.
“In the past, the federal government has used its limited resources to incentivize changes like desegregation and No Child Left Behind, which have had big impacts. But, it's not clear if the changes Trump is considering will have much of an effect given the limited role of the federal government in funding and operating K-12 public schools. It's more likely that the kinds of changes to curriculum Trump is advocating for will be implemented by states, as we've seen in some areas.”
