Reaching Higher NH Statement on the Elimination of the US Department of Education

March 20th, 2025

Below please find a statement from Reaching Higher NH regarding President Trump’s Executive Order and the proposed elimination of the US Department of Education (ED): 

The Executive Order signed by President Trump today “to facilitate the closure (of) the Department of Education and return education authority to the States” is yet another act in a multi-decade effort to dismantle the public education system. 

The proposed elimination of the Department will be felt acutely across the Granite State. It will strip down accountability, therefore, increase the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse, further weakening our local public schools. For over three decades, the State of NH has operated an unconstitutional and discriminatory public education system. The state has enshrined limited opportunity for those with less personal wealth or from property poor communities. In many ways, the existence of the US Department of Ed has served as a buffer working to lessen the impact of that system on NH students, families and communities.  

The role of the Department is a supportive one. It exists: to ensure equal access to a free and appropriate public education for all students, to ensure that a public education is of the highest possible quality, and to coordinate, manage, and monitor the expenditure of federal tax dollars. With the elimination of the US Department of Education, we are losing a vital safeguard of student protections and state accountability. 

Although the future of the work of the Department of Education is uncertain and many questions remain, Reaching Higher NH remains committed to supporting our students, schools, and communities  through research, resources, engagement and accountability.   

Press Contact: Christina Pretorius, Policy Director

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