The Trump Administration has threatened an executive order gutting the US Department of Education (ED). ED administers a range of programs of critical importance to Georgians, including Title I programs serving students living in poverty, Pell grants providing aid to Georgia’s college students experiencing need and the administration of programs serving migrant K-12 students and those with disabilities.
- ED contributes more than $2.2 billion to Georgia’s public schools per year.[1]
- Title I funding alone in Georgia supports 7,251 teacher positions,[2] with approximately $594 million dollars in Title I funding coming to the state in the 2020/21 academic year.[3]
The gutting of ED, the agency best positioned to administer these programs and funds for vulnerable Georgians, is especially concerning given that large-scale federal funding cuts are likely on the horizon. This effectively delivers a one-two punch to our state. It does specific harm to individuals in rural school districts like Clay County, where almost a third of the school district’s budget is from federal sources, compared to a county like Forsyth in Metro Atlanta, where federal funding only accounts for 3% of the school district’s budget.[4]
These actions by the administration are layered on top of multiple other harms to Georgians experiencing poverty, including potential historic cuts to programs like Medicaid and food stamps, which support healthcare access and food security for thousands of Georgians from the Golden Isles to the Blue Ridge Mountains. From Staci Fox, CEO of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute:
“Federal funding is tailored to support kids with the greatest needs and therefore is most important in districts experiencing higher poverty, many of which are in rural Georgia. This is an unprecedented dismantling of systems and resources built and calibrated to support students and the schools who serve them. The government should provide equitable access to education to all students and this role must be shared between federal, state and local bodies.”
Endnotes:
[1] Dalton, M. (2025, March 6). What shrinking the US Department of Education could mean for Georgia. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. https://www.ajc.com/education/what-eliminating-the-us-department-of-education-could-mean-for-georgia/AA42CF5EPZCCFFGEMCJ5OYIJEQ/
[2] James, W., & Ragland, W.. (2024, July 25). Project 2025’s elimination of Title I funding would hurt students and decimate teaching positions in local schools. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/project-2025s-elimination-of-title-i-funding-would-hurt-students-and-decimate-teaching-positions-in-local-schools/
[3] University of Michigan. Federal education funding data dashboard (2020-21 academic year). https://poverty.umich.edu/federal-education-funding-data-dashboard/
[4] Georgia Department of Education. Georgia insights: District financial information, Georgia Department of Education, revenues and expenditures (2024). https://georgiainsights.gadoe.org/Dashboards/Pages/District-Financial-Information.aspx
