The Federal Department of Education ensures educational equity by funding low-income schools, supporting students with disabilities, and enforcing civil rights laws. While states control most education decisions, abolishing the federal department would widen achievement gaps, disproportionately harming communities of color and low-income families, perpetuating systemic inequities rooted in historical discrimination.

For years, Republican politicians have worked to turn public opinion against higher education, painting colleges as breeding grounds for liberal ideology rather than institutions for learning. At the same time, they have pushed to weaken or even dismantle the Department of Education, claiming that education should be left to individual states or families. But what if these moves aren't just about policy differences?

Nazi book burnings and today’s book bannings are looking very similar.