At the beginning of April the Trump administration released its proposed budget for 2027. The proposal’s introduction says it “puts the Department of Education (ED), which has failed the Nation’s children, teachers, and families, on a path to elimination.”
It goes on to support dissolving programs and consolidating them to other agencies such as the Department of Labor, for the purpose of reducing waste and delivering better results for students.
The proposed 2027 budget for the DOE would result in a $2.3 billion, or 2.9%, decrease from the 2026 budget. While it would increase funding for some programs such as Pell Grants, it would decrease funding for others, including cuts to the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program (FSEOG) and the Federal Work-Study program (FWS).
Approximately 50% of Sinclair College students receive financial aid. During the 2024-2025 period, Sinclair students received $817,162 of aid from the FSEOG and $300,000 from FWS. Many students rely on more than one kind of financial aid, as well as part-time jobs, to help cover the costs of living and continuing their education.
The budget is still in the proposal stage. Congress must draft its own proposed budget and come to an agreement before Sept. 30 to avoid another government shutdown.
The section in the budget on the DOE outlines its plans to eliminate “woke” and “wasteful” projects like “training materials covering inappropriate and divisive topics such as Critical Race Theory, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), social justice activism, and ‘anti-racism’.”
It also proposes to exclude “research papers claiming that there are too many white students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics” and “a ‘newcomer toolkit’ that describes illegal immigration as a ‘healthy contribution to democracy.’”
Opponents to the proposed budget say it “continues the illegal dismantling of the Department of Education” and fails students, teachers and families. Supporters say that the budget will improve government efficiency and make sure all taxpayer dollars are used effectively.
In a statement, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) said, “Families across the country are sitting at their kitchen tables making tough decisions about how to stretch every dollar—we owe it to them to do the same in government.”
Erik Larson, reporter
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