The landscape of education has changed greatly from the previous school year.
As I see all the first-day-of-school photos on my Facebook timeline, I wonder what the future holds for students. School choices that were becoming expected are no longer the norm as students and families navigate all these policy changes.
Locally and nationally, our education system is in a period of transformation, with a very fuzzy picture of where we will end up.
Private school vouchers are available to all Indiana residents regardless of household income. What was once touted as a means of access for families who could not afford tuition out of pocket is now open to even the wealthiest families.
DEI resources are being removed from schools, eliminating a number of training programs and support for students and faculty of color.
Here in Indiana, Indiana University and several other state colleges and universities have suspended or eliminated numerous degree programs based on the number of students who have graduated. However, the schools can still petition to offer the degrees.
Notably, IU Bloomington suspended the bachelor and doctoral degree programs in African American and African Diaspora Studies.
The Department of Education is being dismantled, with states expected to take over its duties.
“Closing the Department of Education would provide children and their families the opportunity to escape a system that is failing them,” according to the Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities Executive Order from March 20, 2025.
Citing the decline in academic achievement, the rationale was that the DOE was a failing system. But if the system was failing, wouldn’t it need more resources?
Could a greater, more strategic investment in education improve outcomes? The system may need to be addressed, but it seems like it would be tougher to address a system that no longer exists.
Uncertainty looms as pathways that were once available are now shaky. Extended payment plans, low interest rates and deferments made it possible for people to take on student loans and start paying them back once their careers and salaries developed.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median weekly income for a person with a college degree was about twice as much as the weekly income of someone with a high school diploma. Whether deterred by the cost of tuition or lack of academic preparation, where does that leave students who have been guided away from pursuing college?
Education was widely considered a path to the American dream. The path, though challenging, used to seem pretty clear: Graduate from high school. Go to college for as little money as possible. Get a good job. Take care of your family. Repeat.
That was the blueprint for the American middle class.
While I don’t believe education was the one and only key to success, it was a key that helped many families move up the economic ladder. But the rules keep changing, leaving prospective students and their families unsure about what will happen and how to plan for it.
From the looks of it, the achievement gap between the haves and the have-nots will continue to widen as the path to educational attainment is less certain.
Camike Jones is the editor-in-chief of the Indianapolis Recorder.