BLOG: Do we need the US Department of Education?
The U.S. Department of Education took shape in the mid-19th century, when President Andrew Johnson signed legislation in 1867 for its creation.
The following year it became an office within the Department of the Interior to collect information on schools and establish an effective school system. It languished there for many years overseeing the development of the U.S. public school system.
Its role expanded in 1917 when the Smith-Hughes Act increased the federal government’s investment in vocational education and placed the development of the program with the distribution of funds under the U.S. Department of Education (ED).
When the civil rights movement kicked into high gear in the 1950s, the role of the ED really grew, starting with the landmark decision of Brown vs. Board of Education. A series of new education laws continued to expand the role of the ED such that in 1979, it became a cabinet agency to centralize federal education programs to improve access to education, ensure equal opportunity and enhance educational quality nationwide.
The profession of optometry interfaces with the ED by a formal relationship with the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE). I served on this council for 5 years and had the opportunity to witness the importance of this relationship.
The ACOE is the accrediting body for optometric education programs in the U.S. This includes doctor of optometry programs, optometric residency programs and optometric assistant/technician programs. ACOE must maintain formal recognition by the ED by adhering to federal standards and ensuring that the decisions of the council lead to high quality optometric programs.
The recognition of the ED is critical to ACOE and optometry. Only students that attend educational institutions accredited by an agency that is recognized by the ED are eligible for federal financial aid. The recognition by a central federal agency assures the quality measures are uniform and do not vary by state or region. The process requires that ACOE periodically demonstrate compliance with federal standards to maintain recognition.
On Feb. 28, 2025, President Donald J. Trump initiated steps to dismantle the ED with a series of executive orders. Although a president cannot directly abolish a federal agency, the orders set in motion a plan for the agency’s own dissolution. The administration’s Department of Government Efficiency has also targeted the ED for dissolution, aiming for the functions of the ED to be delegated to the states.
For optometry, this will mean that our future students, already struggling under high tuition costs, will no longer have access to the federal dollars available for education. The states with the most money available for higher education are Alaska, Connecticut, Wyoming and Delaware — none of which has a college of optometry.
When the states are also responsible for the quality of education standards, there will be a wide variety in educational programs. Massachusetts, for example, the recognized leader in quality education, will logically have a higher standard for their two optometry schools than the schools located in other states.
ACOE will have to have different measures for standards for different states, or perhaps each state will need to develop its own council on optometric education and perhaps each state association will have to have its own council. If that becomes the path, expect a major increase in state association dues.
This disruption and uncertainty for higher education is not just an optometry problem. The lack of a federal agency for accreditation, along with a lack of funding for students, will affect all aspects of higher education.
This chaotic reorganization of our educational system will weaken our ranking as a world leader in higher education. Without federal support we will have a smaller applicant pool with only the rich able to afford the cost of education. We will have less funding for research, and our institutions will struggle to keep the doors open.
To keep optometry as a leading health care profession and maintain our country’s status as a leader in higher education, we absolutely need the ED. It may need to be reorganized and it may need to run more efficiently, but it should not just be dismantled and scattered to the wind.
We should build on the 158 years of history and strive to continue to lead the world in excellence in higher education.
Reference:
- An overview of the U.S. Department of Education. https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-overview/an-overview-of-the-us-department-of-education--pg-1. Accessed March 3, 2025.
For more information:
Scott A. Edmonds, OD, FAAO, specializes in vision-based neurorehabilitation at Edmonds Eye Associates in Philadelphia. He can be reached at scott@edmondsgroup.com.
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