Are Red States More Dependent On Federal Education Funding?
From Forbes.com
One of Donald Trump campaign promises was to end the federal Department of Education and change how federal education monies will be distributed, “moving education back to the states.”
The Department of Education distributes over $18 billion under the Title I program to help support schools that educate high-poverty populations, providing benefits like extra staff to supplement reading instruction. The department also handles over $15 billion in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding, which helps cover the costs of special education. These are the two biggest sources of federal funding for schools.
But not all states have the same level of dependence on federal funding. This chart from the National Education Policy Center shows the percentage of funding that each state gets from the federal government, as well as which candidate the state voted for in the Presidential election of 2024.
IMO this data tends to support the arguments FOR eliminating the Federal DOE. The DOE largely functions as a funding conduit, shifting $$ from one state to another. This tax subsidy allows those recipient states to keep their taxes low and pretend to be budget conscious & pro-business. I’ve not seen any evidence that they are unable, just unwilling, to raise sufficient funds to properly educate their kids.