President Trump’s attempts to dismantle the federal Department of Education could have catastrophic impacts on Maine’s children and communities. Education is primarily a state and local responsibility. But the federal Department of Education still plays an essential role. While only about 10% of Maine’s education funds come from the federal government, they support crucial areas from cradle to career.

A large portion of this funding — about $62 million in 2024 — is Title I funding, which is dedicated specifically for the education of students from low-income communities. This money is flexible in how it can be used and often goes to meet critical needs, like hiring teachers or providing tutoring.

States also receive federal funding for students requiring special education services. Maine has a relatively high rate of qualifying students — 20.1%, compared to a national rate of 15% — and, in 2024, it received $66 million for special education.

Another important program is the department’s Rural Education Achievement Program. REAP helps offset the unique budgetary challenges that come with providing education in sparsely populated, remote places, and it is critical in a state like Maine, where more than two-thirds of schools are rural.

It’s not just K-12 education that the Department of Education supports. It also subsidizes a variety of early learning programs, including preschool programs for children with disabilities and low-income children, and adult education programs, like vocational rehabilitation services and literacy services. During the 2023-24 academic year, nearly 1,000 Maine adult learners earned a high school credential; thousands more participated in other workforce, literacy and academic programs.

The Department of Education provides funding to higher education, too. Much of this money goes directly to students in the form of Pell Grants, which support degree attainment for low-income students; 27% of Maine undergraduates received Pell Grants in 2022-23. The department also manages trillions of dollars in student loans.

In addition, the Department of Education conducts and funds essential research. It supports projects that contribute to public knowledge about schools, including best educational practices, school safety and student achievement. It also collects data on the condition of U.S. education for the purpose of improving student outcomes.

All of this work is threatened right now. These programs and grants make for strong schools, useful research and prepared graduates. They help produce teachers, doctors and business leaders and keep Maine on the cutting edge of educational and technological practice. They ensure Maine is a place where we can raise our children and care for our parents.

Yes, President Trump would need congressional support to abolish the Department of Education completely, and it’s not clear whether he has it. But he can also try to eliminate particular programs, as he has already begun to do — like recent cuts to teacher training grants and scores of IES contracts. Or, through buyouts and reductions-in-force, he can eat away at the department so that it can’t function. The department needs staff to disburse its funds. Or he can outsource key programs, like student loans, to other departments, like the Small Business Administration, that lack the deep expertise needed to administer them.

And these cuts come at a time of extraordinary challenge. We have not recovered from pandemic-era learning loss. Maine students’ scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress are at an all-time low. We are in the midst of a teacher shortage of historic proportions, and many districts still can’t hire enough bus drivers. And we are facing a moment of unprecedented political and technological turmoil. More than ever, our future depends upon educated, capable young people.

Maine needs a strong, well-staffed federal Department of Education, one that does its job and funds its programs. Call your congressional representatives. Tell them to protect the Department of Education, its staff and its programs.