21-03-2025
Louisiana's rural, low-income schools will be hit hardest by DOE cut. What to know
On March 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to close the U.S. Department of Education, giving states' the authority over education.
The executive order expresses that funds for schools and students that are dependent on funding will not be cut, such as K-12 students, students with special needs, college student loans and other various programs for students.
However, since department experts handling statistics and data who work to determine if schools qualify for funding will no longer hold those job positions, it's currently unclear how grants are to remain intact.
The U.S. Department of Education provides federal funding and support to schools in Louisiana in order to improve the access to education, as well as the quality of education. This is done through financial aid based on need or merit, instruction and assessment resources, as well as support for special needs students.
However, without the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) will be lost, which will have an especially negative impact on low-income schools, NPR reported.
Without the NCES, there will not be the necessary staff needed to properly allocate funds and, in the absence of such funds, school districts' budgets are likely to suffer.
While state and local governments are responsible for providing the majority funding for schools, the federal government can provide essential funding for high-needs schools.
High-needs schools with high percentages of low-income students rely on the Title 1 federal education program in order to receive supplemental funding. There are approximately 864 schools in Louisiana that are eligible for Title 1, which represents 50.7% of all students within those schools, according to the NCES.
The recent executive order does not specifically outline, nor mention, any details regarding the Title 1 program.
Additionally, the executive order does not mention the future of the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP), which grants funding to low-income and rural school districts. In Louisiana, 31 out of 89 school districts are considered rural, according to NCES data.
Presley Bo Tyler is a reporter for the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team for Gannett/USA Today. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: How will rural, low-income Louisiana schools struggle without DOE?
