The Supreme Court approved plan to layoff 1400 staff members from the US Department of Education
July 14-20, 2025
Rev. Dr. William T. Ladd
Last week, the United States Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, approved President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education by laying off 1,400 employees. Established by Congress in 1979 during the Carter administration, the Department of Education was created to promote student achievement and prepare learners for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. Its core mission includes administering federal assistance to education, collecting data on U.S. schools to guide improvement, and enforcing federal laws regarding privacy and civil rights. It plays a central role in shaping national education policy and ensuring access to quality education for all students. However, this administration and the highest court in the land have chosen to treat American children as commodities by placing profit and political agendas above students’ well-being, growth, and learning. This ongoing attack on public education threatens the future of children who are already marginalized, under-resourced, and too often overlooked by systems meant to support them. When public schools are undermined, it is students from low-income families, communities of color, and those with disabilities who suffer the most. Stripping public education of funding, support, and respect doesn’t just weaken institutions. It erodes the very foundation of opportunity, equity, and democracy itself.
It is crystal clear that both federal and state governments are choosing to divest from public education and invest in privatization. The U.S. federal government contributes approximately $79 billion annually to public education. Much of that funding will now be diverted to private voucher programs. In Tennessee, for example, the state, using the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) formula, contributes approximately $9 billion annually to education. Yet in 2025, Tennessee passed the Education Freedom Act, allowing $7,295 of public education funding per student to be used in private schools. Tennessee’s voucher program and other privatization efforts threaten the very existence of public education by diverting critical public funds to private institutions, schools that are not held to the same standards of transparency, accountability, or accessibility. These programs often lack oversight, exclude students with the greatest needs, and prioritize “choice” for a few over quality education for all. As resources are siphoned from public classrooms, the foundation of equitable education is steadily being dismantled, leaving behind the majority of students who rely on public schools as their only viable path to opportunity. Despite objections from state teacher associations, local education groups, and even students, our governments continue to legislate policies that place public education at risk.
As we move forward in this era of privatization and politicization of our educational system, our call to action, as people of faith, is both to pray and to protest. We pray for wisdom, justice, and protection for our children and educators. But we also protest by showing up, speaking out, and most importantly, by voting. We must vote in local school board elections for public servants who will not place a “For Sale” sign on our public education system. Our schools are not marketplaces, and our children are not products. Public education is a public good and must be protected, nurtured, and preserved for every child, regardless of background, income, or zip code.
In ancient times, many cultures sacrificed children to please the gods. Thousands of years later, in this so-called civilized society, our country has chosen to sacrifice its children to the gods of greed and power. The altars may look different now. Boardrooms instead of temples. Legislation instead of ritual. Tragically, the outcome is tragically the same: a generation of children being offered up, not for their future, but for someone else’s profit. But our steadfast hope is in our loving and liberating Lord who issues children an invitation not rooted in exploitation, but in unconditional love. While the world may see children as tools for gain, our Savior sees them as treasures of the Kingdom. Let us stand in that same posture, defending the dignity of every child and pointing them toward the One who calls them by name.