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Communications Toolkit: Department of Education

Protect Essential Programs for Students
Want to use your voice to protect the Department of Education and public education? We’ve created messaging guidance and communications tools to get you started!

What's in this toolkit

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Core Message

Most Americans believe that every student deserves opportunities, resources, and supports to reach their full potential no matter where they live, the color of their skin, or how much their family earns. Public schools and the Department of Education exist because students, with and without disabilities, in every state and neighborhood have the right to an education that imparts academic lessons, life skills, and inspires a lifelong love of learning.

Educators and parents and families know that America's students need more opportunities to succeed, not less. We need to strengthen our public schools where 90% of students — and 95% of students with disabilities — learn.

The Trump administration’s recent announcement that it will shift multiple Department of Education functions to other understaffed federal agencies is a blow to students’ right to equal access to education. The action will steal resources from schools and hack away at the protections and services our students need to succeed. 

The Department of Education has been essential to student success. Its programs support our most vulnerable students and families in rural, suburban, and urban communities, help students access career training or attend 2- and 4-year colleges, and ensure students with disabilities receive the services and support needed to succeed. Together, we must demand our leaders protect these essential institutions. 

Act Now

A crowd of people holding various signs about supporting public education.

Don’t Let the Trump Administration Dismantle the Department of Education

Shifting functions to other agencies hurts kids and communities, and usurps the power of Congress.

Email congress

Key Talking Points

Donald Trump and his administration chose American Education Week—a time when our nation celebrates students, public schools, and educators—to announce their illegal plan to further abandon students by dismantling the Department of Education.
Students need our support now more than ever. But this administration wants to starve and steal resources from our students and rob them of their futures.
Ensuring a brighter future for our children should be a top priority for any administration. Instead, this administration is hacking away at the very protections and services our students need.
This latest action is part of the administration’s overall Project 2025 plan to gut the Department of Education that will send class sizes soaring, cut job training programs, make higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle-class families, and take away special education services for students with disabilities, and student civil rights protections.

How Students & Families Will Pay if Public Education is Gutted  

If we dismantle public schools and the Department of Education: 

  • Class sizes will surge, leaving students with less one-on-one attention and support.  
  • Rural, suburban, and urban communities across the country will lose needed funding, hitting our most vulnerable families the hardest.  
  • College access will shrink as students and families who receive support to attend college could lose Pell Grants or federal student loans, leading to more students dropping out, fewer choices, and fewer options for families.  
  • Students with disabilities and their families will lose support needed at school and home.  

How Educators’ Daily Lives Will Change if the Department of Education is Gutted 

  • Greater burdens and more daily stress with even fewer support and resources.  
  • Fewer trained colleagues, instruction materials, and less support for student mental health needs. 
  • Cuts to after school and summer programs will erase progress made in tutoring, reductions in chronic absenteeism, and providing skill-building programs.  
  • Job losses will mount and harm communities as public school employees lose their jobs.  
A young male child with close-cut blonde hair in a mint green cartoon shirt takes a serving of carrot sticks as they make selections from fresh, nutritious looking food on their school's lunch line.

How much funding does my public school get from the federal government?

Students in every school district, in every community, in every state, rely on federal funding for public schools. These funds help lower class sizes, support students learning differences and disabilities, feed hungry students so they can learn, and make higher education and technical career education more affordable.

Popular Programs

Here are some of the most popular programs supporting students that are at risk if the Department of Education is dismantled.

The Program: Title 1
Title 1 directs money to schools with high concentrations of students living in poverty and provides supports.
The Impact
Support provided through Title 1, such as reading specialists and smaller class sizes, could be decimated if, as proposed in Project 2025, it is turned into block grants and handed over to individual states—without any sort of accountability or oversight. According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, 180,000 teaching positions could be lost, affecting 2.8 million students in low-income communities.
The Program: Federal Student Aid
The Education Department also administers Federal Student Aid, such as Pell Grants, federal student loans, and loan repayment and forgiveness programs.
The Impact
Thirty percent of U.S. college students rely on these federal loans to pay their tuition. Students and families could lose this support, leading to more students dropping out, fewer choices, and fewer options for families.
The Program: IDEA
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides services and support students with disabilities need and deserve.
The Impact
Roughly 7.5 million students, or 15 percent of the student population, receive special education under IDEA, including funding of $15 billion to support students with disabilities. This program could be transferred to another agency, making it significantly less likely that students with disabilities are protected and served to the fullest extent under IDEA.
The Program: Office for Civil Rights
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights protects students against discrimination based on race, gender, and disability.
The Impact
Many expect the White House to move the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights to the Department of Justice, a move that would severely weaken its ability to protect students against discrimination. The absence of strong federal oversight would leave millions of students vulnerable to discrimination, leading to lower levels of motivation and academic achievement and a higher risk of dropping out.

Sample Campaign Copy

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Social Media Posts
  • Instagram: Will will not be silent as Donald Trump and Linda McMahon turn their backs on our students, families, and communities.  Tell Congress to stop the Administration's dismantling of the Dept. of Education. Take action at nea.org/defend [Add Graphic from Gallery Below]
  • Facebook: Dismantling the Department of Education will deny students the critical supports that they need to learn, grow, and succeed in life . Tell Congress to stop it from happening. nea.org/defend
  • Bluesky/Threads/Other: Dismantling the Department of Education will explode class sizes and deny students access to higher education and job programs. Write Congress now. nea.org/defend
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Sample Hustle Script
  • TYPE: Share a Link Goal 
  • LINK: https://www.nea.org/defend
  • SCRIPT: Hi <Member Name>, this is <Organizer Name> with <Affiliate Name>. Do you support Trump's effort to dismantle the Dept. of Education? Stop2Quit
  • IF YES: Got it, thank you for responding <member name>. 
  • IF NO: Will you write Congress and tell them to put a stop to it? You can take action here: <Link>  
  • OTHER INFORMATION: Here's more info about how dismantling the Dept. of Education will harm students: nea.org/department-education
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Sample Email

Subject Line: Trump is dismantling the Dept. of Education

Body:  

Hi {{FirstName or 'there'}},  

Congress created the Department of Education to ensure all students, no matter who they are or where they live, get equal access to an education. Students in every community benefit from its programs.

Donald Trump recently announced that he is moving forward on dismantling the U.S. Department of Education.

Please join me in telling your senators and member of Congress to stop this unprecedented, unilateral, and illegal action.  

Trump and his Administration are robbing students of educational opportunity by gutting the education department and shifting its hallmark programs to agencies with no expertise to meet the needs of students.  

Their action will deny students the critical supports that they need to learn, grow, and succeed in life.  

It will explode class sizes and deny students access to higher education and job programs.

Let’s be clear: Congress created the Department of Education and only Congress can dismantle it.  

Please write your elected officials right now and demand they protect students and put a stop to Donald Trump and Linda McMahon’s ILLEGAL decision to dismantle the Dept. of Education.  

Thank you for taking action and speaking out on this important issue. 

________

Share These Graphics

A graphic on a black background with a grey wrecking ball hanging from a chain on the right side. ON the left it says "Don't let billionaires take a wrecking ball to our public schools."
A graphic on a black background with a grey wrecking ball hanging from a chain on the right side. ON the left it says "Don't let billionaires take a wrecking ball to our public schools."

A graphic with the following text: "3 things you can do to stop the destruction of the Education Department: 1) Call your House Rep. Text PROTECT to 48744 to connect with your representative. 2) Share on social media. Visit nea.org/protect and share a graphic, article, or video. 3) Urge friends to act. Ask them to text ACTION to 48744 for updates and action alerts.
A graphic with the following text: "3 things you can do to stop the destruction of the Education Department: 1) Call your House Rep. Text PROTECT to 48744 to connect with your representative. 2) Share on social media. Visit nea.org/protect and share a graphic, article, or video. 3) Urge friends to act. Ask them to text ACTION to 48744 for updates and action alerts.

Graphic: Dismantling the DOE will harm students
Graphic: Dismantling the DOE will harm students

Graphic that reads: "The billionaire takeover of public education: Linda McMahon, Elon Musk, Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump—None of them have public education experience. But they are all experts at getting richer while working people suffer."
Graphic that reads: "The billionaire takeover of public education: Linda McMahon, Elon Musk, Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump—None of them have public education experience. But they are all experts at getting richer while working people suffer."

Graphic that reads "What does the Department of Education actually do? (Hint: It’s not running schools)"
Graphic that reads "What does the Department of Education actually do? (Hint: It’s not running schools)"

Graphic that reads: "Myth: Dismantling the Department of Education is a good thing and rightfully returns power to states." and "Reality :States already control most of public education. Dismantling the Education Department isn’t about “state control”— it’s about defunding and privatizing public schools."
Graphic that reads: "Myth: Dismantling the Department of Education is a good thing and rightfully returns power to states." and "Reality :States already control most of public education. Dismantling the Education Department isn’t about “state control”— it’s about defunding and privatizing public schools."

Graphic that reads: "States rely on billions in federal funding for: Lower-income students (Title I), Students with disabilities (IDEA), Rural schools, Career training" and "Without the Education Department, many states can’t fill the gap. Meaning fewer educators, larger class sizes, & fewer opportunities for students."
Graphic that reads: "States rely on billions in federal funding for: Lower-income students (Title I), Students with disabilities (IDEA), Rural schools, Career training" and "Without the Education Department, many states can’t fill the gap. Meaning fewer educators, larger class sizes, & fewer opportunities for students."

Graphic that reads: "Dismantling the Department of Education means public education depends on state politics." and "A student’s future shouldn’t depend on whether certain politicians in state legislatures value education. The Department of Education helps ensure consistent opportunities for all kids, no matter their ZIP code."
Graphic that reads: "Dismantling the Department of Education means public education depends on state politics." and "A student’s future shouldn’t depend on whether certain politicians in state legislatures value education. The Department of Education helps ensure consistent opportunities for all kids, no matter their ZIP code."

Graphic that reads: "The same politicians and billionaires pushing to eliminate the Education Department want to: Expand private school vouchers nationwide, gut educators’ collective bargaining rights, and defund public education to benefit billionaires."
Graphic that reads: "The same politicians and billionaires pushing to eliminate the Education Department want to: Expand private school vouchers nationwide, gut educators’ collective bargaining rights, and defund public education to benefit billionaires."

Graphic that reads: "Myth: Other agencies will absorb the Education Department’s work." and "Reality: That’s like forcing educators to take on social work, mental health services, and admin duties—without training, staff support, or funding. It’s impossible to do well."
Graphic that reads: "Myth: Other agencies will absorb the Education Department’s work." and "Reality: That’s like forcing educators to take on social work, mental health services, and admin duties—without training, staff support, or funding. It’s impossible to do well."

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