1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

The administration's proposal to shutter the Department of Education poses a grave threat to the education and future prospects of our state's children. As a central funding and civil rights enforcement agency, the Department plays a vital role in ensuring equal access to quality education for all students, regardless of their socioeconomic status, disabilities, or background. Its elimination would disproportionately harm our most vulnerable communities and roll back decades of hard-won progress in educational equity and opportunity. The Department's responsibilities, including distributing funds to support impoverished students and those with disabilities, overseeing the public student loan program, and enforcing civil rights protections, are essential to maintaining a fair and inclusive education system. Transferring these critical functions to state control without adequate resources or oversight mechanisms risks exacerbating existing disparities and leaving countless children behind. I implore you to take decisive action to safeguard the education of our state's youth by opposing any efforts to dismantle the Department of Education. Our children's futures depend on it.