Saphron Advocacy demands Congress Reject Assault on Public Education
Take action to protect the Department of Education; more than 200,000 letters sent by Saphron, the National Campaign for Justice, and coalition partners
SAPHRON ADVOCACY
House Republicans just introduced H.R. 899, a bill that would eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. This could mean no more federal student loans, no protections for students with disabilities, and no national oversight for equal education access.
Saphron Initiative stands against this attack on millions of students, teachers, and families.
The Department of Education manages over $1 trillion in federal student aid, including the backbone of student aid programs like Pell Grants, work-study programs, and income-driven repayment plans. Eliminating it would leave millions in limbo, making college even more unaffordable. States will be left scrambling, inequality will skyrocket, and education will become a privilege for the wealthy, not a right for all.
The Department of Education is responsible for ensuring students with disabilities get the resources they need and enforcing Title IX protections against discrimination and sexual harassment. Without it, states would be left to make their own rules, meaning Republican-led states could gut public education funding, eliminate resources for students with disabilities, and roll back or slash protections entirely for LGBTQ+ students.
Democrats are not powerless to stop this. If House Democrats vote united, then they only need to peel off 3 Republicans -- and there are more than two dozen House Republicans in swing districts nationwide. If the bill does pass the House, Senate Democrats can block it using the filibuster. But unity among Democrats is never guaranteed and every member of Congress needs to know where the American public stands.
Every student, no matter their background, deserves equal opportunities, but H.R. 899 would send us back decades. Congress must hear us loud and clear.
