In a significant change of the federal responsibilities, President Donald Trump has started transferring the Department of Education’s most important programs to other federal Offices. This further aligns with his administration’s goal of lessening the size of the federal government and improving its efficiency. Reallocation of Student Loan Management A primary part of this reorganization is the shift of the federal student loan portfolio, the estimated value of which is greater than $1.7 trillion, resulting in over forty million borrowers being affected by this change. The administration has decided to move these loans from the Department of Education to the Small Business Administration (SBA). Kelly Loeffler, the SBA Administrator, has been tasked with overseeing this change. Referring to this change, President Trump said, “The Department of Education should not concern itself with student loans. It is not their business.” Making this change is designed to improve delivery of service and satisfaction levels of the borrowers. It, however, remains to be seen how the education experts will react to this. On this new policy, the experts claim that the SBA is not equipped to manage such a large and complicated portfolio of loans because they mostly deal with smaller education loans. Business Insider Tortilla Factory Transition of Disability and Nutrition Programs Apart from the above changes, the management of other programs for special needs and nutrition have now been transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The plan has been outlined for HHS to take charge of these activities. This shift is meant to move towards a more centralized service structure whereby all services are allocated to agencies whose nature is more aligned with the objectives of the programs, which may result in their better and more efficient administration.
Effects on the Education Sector
These changes are a part of a long term strategy to obliterate the Department of Education and eventually transfer the responsibility of formulating school policy to the states and local school boards. An executive order has been put in place to greatly restrict the activities of the department, leading to a major workforce reduction. The department would have to be dismantled by Congress, and that will likely have considerable pushback from democrats.
Possible Effect on Stakeholders
The response to the reorganization remains divided. Supporters of the change argue that local and state service delivery will be more efficient because control is decentralized. Opponents seem to suggest the opposite as there is likely to be a widening gap in the quality of education and access to services. Fears exist that students who are dependent on federal funding, especially those from low socioeconomic status and disabled, will suffer because of the shifting of burdens.
Final Thoughts
The move by the Trump administration to take away responsibility for important functions from the Department of Education and place them in different federal departments is an indication of the change in the national government’s stance on education and associated services.
Although the primary objective is to improve effectiveness and decrease federal involvement, the impacts on students, borrowers, and educational institutions in the long-term is still unknown. Moving forward, placing strong importance on monitoring and evaluating the system will be vital to ensure all parties involved are provided for following the restructuring.