Dept of Education going BYE BYE!

[Horseman 2,452]

ROI.  Its not there. Effeminates don't understand ROI. 

[squistion 2,197]

https://x.com/atrupar/status/1903108301786628420

Trump announces that the Small Business Administration will immediately handle all federal student loans, and RFK Jr is now in charge of "handling special needs and all of the nutrition programs and everything else."

[Tree of Knowledge 1,855]

6 minutes ago, squistion said:

https://x.com/atrupar/status/1903108301786628420

Trump announces that the Small Business Administration will immediately handle all federal student loans, and RFK Jr is now in charge of "handling special needs and all of the nutrition programs and everything else."

Problem solved

[The Real timschochet 6,758]

My daughter is a special ed teacher. She is being told that her funding WILL be cut for next year due to this move. No specifics yet. 

[jbycho 754]

3 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

My daughter is a special ed teacher. 

Is she helping you much learn anything? Or is she like you? Mental illness runs in the family I guess?

[Horseman 2,452]

2 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

My daughter is a special ed teacher. She is being told that her funding WILL be cut for next year due to this move. No specifics yet. 

Good. Tired of paying for other people's retarded kids.  

[The Real timschochet 6,758]

3 minutes ago, Horseman said:

Good. Tired of paying for other people's retarded kids.  

Now you’re trying a bit too hard. 

[Maximum Overkill 1,988]

For those of you who are fans of big government, congratulations are in order. The United States of America has the largest government in the history of the world.

To give you an idea of just how big we have become, the federal government spent $6.13 trillion in 2023. Putting that in perspective, it took since our nation’s founding in 1776 to the year 1981 to hit a trillion-dollar deficit. Now we spend and borrow way more than that every year.

A mere 43 years later, after hitting the $1 trillion mark, which is today by the way, we have $34 trillion in debt. And that’s not the all of it. There is something called unfunded liabilities (debt that isn’t quite due yet but will be) and that is so astronomically high no one really can put an accurate figure on it. Best guess is it’s about $80 trillion.

The $6.13 trillion we doled out in 2023 is nominally larger (in actual total dollars) than the GDP of almost every nation on the planet. GDP means every dime, dollar and nickel spent in a year. The percentage of GDP our government requires to take from its citizens to run it currently stands at 36 percent.

In other words, all the bureaus, agencies and departments of the government devour that much of what the entire nation makes by selling whatever it is you all sell and service whatever it is you all service. Simply put, all the money changing hands between every one of us ends up leaking about a third of it into the government’s hungry mouth.

Percentage wise, Vladimir Putin’s vaulted Russia is tied with us. China is close at about 33 percent. But as I said, in nominal dollars, which is basically how many trillions are consumed, we are the largest.

Ukraine’s government consumes a whopping 66 percent of its people’s money. No wonder they’re broke. But in actual dollars compared to us, is chicken feed.

[Mufaletta 81]

16 minutes ago, squistion said:

https://x.com/atrupar/status/1903108301786628420

Trump announces that the Small Business Administration will immediately handle all federal student loans, and RFK Jr is now in charge of "handling special needs and all of the nutrition programs and everything else."

Hopefully Loeffler will jettison MOHELA, and it's criminal business practices from the student loan programs.    MOHELA has been a massive contributor to democratic PAC's over the years so if she boots them, they will have to go on the same crash diet that USAID is on. 

[Maximum Overkill 1,988]

22 minutes ago, squistion said:

Trump announces that the Small Business Administration will immediately handle all federal student loans, and RFK Jr is now in charge of "handling special needs and all of the nutrition programs and everything else."

Let's go!  

[Mufaletta 81]

19 hours ago, squistion said:

https://x.com/Public_Citizen/status/1902823566166335666

Trump cannot dismantle the Department of Education without the approval of Congress.

He’s breaking the law. Again.

Maybe if he focused more on educating himself instead of attacking education, he’d know that.

Or, as Linda McMahon restated yet again yesterday, the current DOE heads and the administration have already been working with Congress to pass legislation to undo the DOE after it is reduced to a skeleton staff. 

[Fnord 2,264]

I don't really have an opinion on this yet, I'll wait to see what the fallout is first.

But I find it very hard to imagine how this will improve educational outcomes in this country. Or perhaps that isn't really the goal here...

[Dizkneelande 1,097]

Let’s ask Grok

I assume you're asking about the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and whether student grades have improved since its establishment. The Department of Education was created in 1979 and began operations in 1980, so we’re looking at trends over the past four decades or so.

There’s no direct, nationwide data specifically tracking "student grades" (like GPAs) over this exact period in a centralized way tied to the DOE’s creation. However, we can look at proxies for academic performance, such as standardized test scores, which are often used to gauge student achievement and educational outcomes. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the "Nation's Report Card," provides long-term trend data on reading and math performance for students at ages 9, 13, and 17, going back to the early 1970s. This gives us a good window into trends before and after the DOE’s establishment.

Here’s what the data shows:

- **Pre-DOE (1970s):** Before the DOE was created, NAEP scores for 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds in reading and math were relatively flat or showed modest gains. For example, from 1971 to 1980, reading scores for 17-year-olds hovered around 285-286 (on a 0-500 scale), while math scores for the same age group stayed around 300-304. There wasn’t a dramatic upward trend, but the system was stable.

- **Post-DOE (1980s onward):** After the DOE began, scores didn’t show a clear, consistent improvement tied to its existence. For 17-year-olds, reading scores remained stagnant (e.g., 289 in 1990, 287 in 2008) and math scores barely budged (e.g., 305 in 1990, 306 in 2012). For younger students (age 9), there were some gains—reading rose from 208 in 1971 to 221 in 2008, and math from 219 to 243 over the same period—but these improvements tapered off over time. By 2022, after the pandemic, scores for 9-year-olds dropped significantly (5 points in reading, 7 in math from 2020), marking the first-ever math decline in the NAEP long-term trend data.

- **Overall Trend:** From 1980 to the mid-2000s, there were some incremental gains, particularly in math and for younger students, often linked to standards-based reforms like No Child Left Behind (2001). But these gains were uneven, and since around 2012, scores have either flatlined or declined. The 2022 NAEP data showed historic drops, though that’s partly tied to COVID disruptions.

So, have student grades—or at least their academic performance as measured by tests—improved since the DOE? Not in a clear, sustained way. Performance crept up slightly in some areas for a while, but it’s been stagnant or declining for the past decade-plus, with recent years showing backsliding. Critics argue the DOE hasn’t delivered on improving outcomes despite increased federal spending (from $38 billion in 2000 to $70 billion by 2019, unadjusted for inflation). Supporters might say it’s helped standardize efforts and fund equity initiatives, but the results don’t show a transformative leap forward.

Grades themselves are trickier to assess directly—some districts have shifted to "standards-based grading" or relaxed policies (e.g., dropping D’s and F’s post-COVID), which can inflate grades without reflecting real learning gains. A 2023 study in Washington state found A’s spiked in 2020 and became less predictive of state test performance, suggesting grade inflation might mask underlying trends.

Bottom line: No strong evidence suggests student performance has consistently improved since the DOE’s creation. It’s more of a mixed bag—some early progress, then a plateau, and lately a dip. What do you think about this, or were you looking for something more specific?

[Fnord 2,264]

11 minutes ago, Dizkneelande said:

Let’s ask Grok

That's interesting, thanks for posting.

Now, can you elaborate on how dismantling DOE will improve educational outcomes?

[Hardcore troubadour 15,414]

I don’t understand you shitlibs. If you lived in Ohio, why would you want New York having a say in your local school? Or if you lived in NY, why would you want someone from Alaska having a say? It’s ridiculous on its face. 

[Dizkneelande 1,097]

6 minutes ago, Fnord said:

That's interesting, thanks for posting.

Now, can you elaborate on how dismantling DOE will improve educational outcomes?

I think we should keep it and throw another trillion dollars into it because it’s having such a tremendous impact 

[Ron_Artest 1,506]

3 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

I don’t understand you shitlibs. If you lived in Ohio, why would you want New York having a say in your local school? Or if you lived in NY, why would you want someone from Alaska having a say? It’s ridiculous on its face. 

That's because it doesn't happen

 

[Strike 5,538]

1 hour ago, The Real timschochet said:

My daughter is a special ed teacher. She is being told that her funding WILL be cut for next year due to this move. No specifics yet. 

There is no focking way the effects of any of this are known at the local level yet.  This sounds like union fear mongering.

[Dizkneelande 1,097]

1 hour ago, The Real timschochet said:

My daughter is a special ed teacher. She is being told that her funding WILL be cut for next year due to this move. No specifics yet. 

Grok says you’re a lying liar 

As of March 21, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has not cut special education funding itself. The funding for special education, primarily through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), remains intact at the levels appropriated by Congress—around $14.2 billion for IDEA Part B Grants to States and $540 million for Part C early intervention in fiscal year 2024, based on the latest budget data. These are statutory programs, meaning they’re protected by law and can’t be slashed by the DOE alone; any reduction would require Congressional action.

What has happened, though, is a significant reduction in the DOE’s workforce. On March 11, 2025, the department announced it was cutting nearly half its staff—over 1,300 positions—leaving about 2,183 employees. This move, tied to President Trump’s push to dismantle the DOE, hit offices like Federal Student Aid, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), which oversees IDEA implementation. The DOE claims it will “continue to deliver on all statutory programs,” including special education funding, but the staff cuts have sparked concerns about how effectively it can manage and oversee these programs with a skeleton crew.

The worry isn’t about immediate cuts to the dollars flowing to states—those are still moving for the 2025-26 school year, per DOE statements and NCES employees cited by NPR. Instead, it’s about the long game: fewer staff could mean delays in processing, less oversight to ensure states use the money correctly, and potential chaos if the department’s role shrinks further or gets shifted elsewhere (like to Health and Human Services, as some propose). For example, the OCR, which enforces disability rights under IDEA, lost hundreds of staff, raising fears about weaker protections against discrimination. Posts on X and analyses from groups like the Center for American Progress echo this, warning that reduced capacity might indirectly harm special ed services down the line, even if the funding itself hasn’t been touched yet.

No hard data shows funding being cut as of today—Congress hasn’t passed anything to that effect, and Trump’s executive order from March 20, 2025, only directs the DOE to “facilitate closure” while keeping programs running for now. But the situation’s fluid. If Congress doesn’t act to fully fund or reauthorize IDEA at current levels in the next budget cycle—or if the DOE’s gutting leads to administrative breakdowns—special ed could feel the pinch later. For now, the money’s still there; it’s the people managing it who’ve taken the hit. What’s your take on where this might head?

[Fnord 2,264]

3 minutes ago, Dizkneelande said:

I think we should keep it and throw another trillion dollars into it because it’s having such a tremendous impact 

So you got nothin. This is my shocked face:

[Hardcore troubadour 15,414]

2 minutes ago, Ron_Artest said:

That's because it doesn't happen

 

Oh really, so the employees and the decision makers in the DOE are from where? 

[Ron_Artest 1,506]

2 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Oh really, so the employees and the decision makers in the DOE are from where? 

The DOE doesn't decide curriculum you uneducated dunce.  That's up to the state and local district.

It's hilarious seeing people like you argue against boogeymen, especially rich since it's the DOE and you are the least educated person I've ever come across.

[Hardcore troubadour 15,414]

Just now, Ron_Artest said:

The DOE doesn't decide curriculum you uneducated dunce.  That's up to the state and local district.

It's hilarious seeing people like you argue against boogeymen, especially rich since it's the DOE and you are the least educated person I've ever come across.

You are so stupid. You really , really are. I’ll sum it up for your dopey ass :  Do what we say or no funding. I’ll refer you to Obamas dear colleague letter concerning discipline in schools.  

[Ron_Artest 1,506]

7 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

You are so stupid. You really , really are. I’ll sum it up for your dopey ass :  Do what we say or no funding. I’ll refer you to Obamas dear colleague letter concerning discipline in schools.  

What does this have to with NY having a say in Ohio schools?

[Cdub100 3,903]

https://x.com/DiggingInTheDi1/status/1903097541450928607/photo/1

If you removed black / Hispanic students from the stats

White Americans rank #7 in the world in academic test scores 

Blacks rank #51 & Hispanics in the #40’s

We don’t have an academic problem. We have a diversity problem. It has made us collectively dumber & less competitive

[Ron_Artest 1,506]

1 minute ago, Cdub100 said:

https://x.com/DiggingInTheDi1/status/1903097541450928607/photo/1

If you removed black / Hispanic students from the stats

White Americans rank #7 in the world in academic test scores 

Blacks rank #51 & Hispanics in the #40’s

We don’t have an academic problem. We have a diversity problem. It has made us collectively dumber & less competitive

You're disgusting.

[RaiderHaters Revenge 4,348]

1 hour ago, Fnord said:

That's interesting, thanks for posting.

Now, can you elaborate on how dismantling DOE will improve educational outcomes?

Can you elaborate how it will improve educational outcomes by keeping it?  It’s a complete waste of of money. HT listed the numbers and Grok spelled it out pretty good on the outcome with it

[RaiderHaters Revenge 4,348]

5 minutes ago, Ron_Artest said:

You're disgusting.

Stating facts is never what anyone on the left wants. Not surprised 

[Cdub100 3,903]

7 minutes ago, Ron_Artest said:

You're disgusting.

Notice you didn't call me a liar.

 

What's disgusting is holding people to a standard they can't possibly achieve. So what do people like you do? You lower the standard and hurt those communities even more. You push people who are not capable into positions they can't possibly be successful. You point to everything but the actual problem. The conservatives do it too. They hide behind buzzwords like Democrat policies or cities or "teens". When everyone knows they are talking about blacks and Hispanics. Democrats laugh at Mississippi for being dumb republican state. Turns out that the state has the largest density of blacks in the nation.

At some point we need to have this conversation in the open without hiding behind buzz words less someone calls you a racist.

[CaptainObvious1 368]

19 minutes ago, Ron_Artest said:

You're disgusting.

You seem to have a lot of issues overall but especially with facts.

[Ron_Artest 1,506]

Anyway...

The DOE is not there to raise test scores.  They don't dictate ciriculum.  They don't teach or proe students.  The DOE exists to give opportunities to kids who need them.  Poor kids, disabled kids, disadvantaged kids.

Trump is using low test scores to justify getting rid of it but it's a false pretense.  The DOE has nothing to do with test scores.

[Ron_Artest 1,506]

2 hours ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

I don’t understand you shitlibs. If you lived in Ohio, why would you want New York having a say in your local school? Or if you lived in NY, why would you want someone from Alaska having a say? It’s ridiculous on its face. 

This idiot thought the DOE made decisions for the local school

[Hardcore troubadour 15,414]

3 minutes ago, Ron_Artest said:

This idiot thought the DOE made decisions for the local school

You’re right. They only make decisions for the federal schools.

[The Real timschochet 6,758]

The disgusting part of what @Cdub100 wrote are not the facts he presented (which are true enough) but the conclusions he draws. He blames diversity for this problem meaning that he believes that poor grades are inherent in blacks and Hispanics. In other words racism. He doesn’t consider other factors; perhaps he is incapable of doing so. 

Blacks and Hispanics perform poorly due to economic and cultural reasons, not due to racial ones. 

[Cdub100 3,903]

22 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

The disgusting part of what @Cdub100 wrote are not the facts he presented (which are true enough) but the conclusions he draws. He blames diversity for this problem meaning that he believes that poor grades are inherent in blacks and Hispanics. In other words racism. He doesn’t consider other factors; perhaps he is incapable of doing so. 

Blacks and Hispanics perform poorly due to economic and cultural reasons, not due to racial ones. 

Oy Vey!!! You got me there. All the racism and economic and cultural stuff keeping them from becoming doctors and lawyers... But wait a minute. *Checks chart* blacks and Hispanics actually perform worse in the countries they control. 

Weird. 

So if it's not the racism or economics or culture what could it be? Surely it couldn't be... Dare I say it? IQ?

[iam90sbaby 2,610]

6 hours ago, Cdub100 said:

https://x.com/DiggingInTheDi1/status/1903097541450928607/photo/1

If you removed black / Hispanic students from the stats

White Americans rank #7 in the world in academic test scores 

Blacks rank #51 & Hispanics in the #40’s

We don’t have an academic problem. We have a diversity problem. It has made us collectively dumber & less competitive

Based

[Hardcore troubadour 15,414]

32 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

The disgusting part of what @Cdub100 wrote are not the facts he presented (which are true enough) but the conclusions he draws. He blames diversity for this problem meaning that he believes that poor grades are inherent in blacks and Hispanics. In other words racism. He doesn’t consider other factors; perhaps he is incapable of doing so. 

Blacks and Hispanics perform poorly due to economic and cultural reasons, not due to racial ones. 

I’ll buy the economic part, but what do you mean by the culture aspect?