Teachers of the Year: Stop the pillaging of America’s greatest institution — public schools | Opinion

We are a diverse group of teachers who represent classrooms across the nation, in red, blue, and swing states, from rural farmlands to busy urban centers and everywhere in between. Despite the miles that lie between us, we are united by the belief that public education is the foundation of opportunity, equity, and democracy.

Our nation’s children and their futures are under attack. Proposals like eliminating the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), expanding privatization and voucher schemes, endangering students’ civil rights protections, and defunding our public schools puts every student at risk.

On January 31, Congressman Thomas Massie (R) of Kentucky, at the guidance of President Trump, reintroduced a one sentence bill to “terminate” the US Department of Education. Now, President Trump has signed an Executive Order to begin dismantling it.

The primary mission of the DOE is to ensure all students have access to a quality education. However, much of its vital work goes unnoticed by those not directly involved in education. Federal education grants like Title I, IDEA, Pell Grants, Perkins funding, and 21st Century Community Learning Centers play a crucial role in ensuring equitable access to quality education across all states. They address systemic disparities and provide essential funding to low-income schools, special education services, teacher training, and career-technical education.

The elimination of federal programs like these would deepen educational inequities, leave struggling schools with fewer resources, limit college access for low-income students, and reduce workforce development opportunities. States with smaller tax bases would be hit hardest, widening an already distinct divide between wealthy and underfunded school districts.

Destruction of the DOE would pave the way for the Trump Administration to dismantle the American public education system where 90 percent of our students are educated. We would be left with a federal government that has no system to ensure fairness for all students, ending protections for our most vulnerable and allowing states to independently determine who receives a good education and who gets left behind.

This nationwide attack on our children is unacceptable.

Privatization, Vouchers, and “School Choice”

States across the country are forcing voucher programs through their legislatures that perpetuate the inequities in our nation’s schools that already exist, particularly for students in rural areas. Public education funding is already inequitable across states and zip codes and vouchers will only make the problem worse by directing public funds toward private education in larger communities and diverting them from rural schools that rely on state and federal funding to operate.

Instead of pretending vouchers are a solution, we must ensure that all students, regardless of where they live, have access to a well-funded public school that is held accountable to a common set of high standards. That is how we provide every child with a quality education that prepares them for the future.

This statewide attack on our children is unacceptable.

A Threat to Civil Rights

The DOE’s current initiative to defund and destroy public schools, as outlined in Project 2025, threatens access to quality public education for all students. The proposal to eliminate Title I funding threatens to cut more than 180,000 teaching positions, adversely affecting 3 million students across the nation. Its plan to abolish Head Start programs would strip early learning services from nearly 800,000 preschoolers. These proposals undermine the foundational principle of equal and equitable educational opportunity for all students.

Many elected leaders are also attempting to radicalize our public school systems. Recent executive orders like “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” (Executive Order No. 14190, 2025), have introduced challenges that are deeply concerning to advocates for a free and appropriate public education.

Ideological language like this threatens the integrity of public education by promoting narrow points of view aimed to preventing pivotal historical and societal discussions that undermine a teacher’s’ professional autonomy. Such narrow views have profound impacts for students who do not see themselves reflected in school curriculum, and reports show greater instances of mental health struggles, increased instances of self-harm, and worse academic outcomes.

These ideological attacks on our children are unacceptable.

What Can We Do?

We must join together to ensure continued access to Title I Funding, IDEA, and teacher preparation incentives because they are essential to maintaining a strong and equitable education system. Title I provides critical funding directly to schools that serve low-income and often at-risk communities. IDEA protects vulnerable students with disabilities, guaranteeing them access to the services they need to thrive. Strong teacher preparation programs develop highly qualified educators who are ready to meet the needs of their students.

Any school that receives public funds must be held to the same standards of transparency, accountability, and accessibility as public schools, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used effectively and equitably. They must serve all students, including those with disabilities, English language learners, and those from low-income backgrounds.

The U.S. DOE exists to ensure that every child, no matter their ZIP code, has access to a quality education. Without it, states have no federal oversight, deepening inequities between wealthy and poor districts. Title I funding for low-income schools, IDEA protections for students with disabilities, and enforcement of civil rights laws would be left to the discretion of individual states, many of which traditionally underfund historically marginalized communities. That is not a system that will produce a strong America.

The pillaging of America’s greatest institution—public education—must be stopped. Regressive laws and policies that seek to monetize our students’ futures and privatize the very institution upon which our democracy rests are pushing us further away from the promises of a high-quality public education.

The future of our children and our nation quite literally depends on it.

Zachary Arenz, 2024 New York Teacher of the Year, Joshua Chard, 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year, Mary Kay Connerton, 2024 Maryland Teacher of the Year, Kevin Dailey, 2024 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, Kiana Foster-Mauro, 2024 Connecticut Teacher of the Year, Cory Hafer, 2024 Delaware Teacher of the Year, Ryan Hardesty, 2024 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, Eric Jenkins, 2024 Indiana Teacher of the Year, Jeff Keller, 2024 Virginia Teacher of the Year, Greg Kester, 2024 Missouri Teacher of the Year, Laura Jeanne Penrod, 2024 Nevada Teacher of the Year, Jessica May, 2024 Colorado Teacher of the Year, Louise Smith, NBCT, 2024 Mississippi Teacher of the Year, Dr. Mandy Vance, 2024 Oregon Teacher of the Year, Sheila Peterson, 2024 North Dakota Teacher of the Year, Catherine Walker, NBCT, 2024 Alaska Teacher of the Year, De’Shawn C. Washington, 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year

This story was originally published March 6, 2025 at 12:43 PM.