On March 20, 2025, the White House issued an Executive Order instructing the Secretary of Education to take steps to dismantle the Department of Education. While the final decision on whether the Department of Education will be dismantled lies with Congress, it is heartbreaking that this action is even being considered by our government. 

As someone who lives with a disability and greatly relied on resources from the Department of Education throughout my academic career, considering the loss of these resources for our children, especially those who live with disabilities, is disappointing and distressing.

Thousands of children across our country rely on the resources and programs funded by the Department of Education to succeed in school. These range from meal programs for all children to specialized support for children living with disabilities, including additional teachers, occupational and speech therapies, testing accommodations, large print books, audio recordings, and so much more.

I am reminded of the passage in Matthew when Jesus says, “If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18: 5-7). I cannot help but think that removing the federal oversight of these resources and the guarantee that children who need extra support can access what they need to succeed places a stumbling block in the path of our little ones. 

When I was in elementary school, my parents were told that I would be able to make change at a newsstand or tune pianos for a living. I am grateful that my parents didn’t accept that and that the Department of Education provided me with the materials and extra support that I needed to learn and excel in school. My family would not have been able to provide these resources for me themselves, which is the case with so many families who have children living with disabilities.

My life would be very different without this support and I continue to be shocked at the efforts to move our country back to a time when people considered “less than” are pushed out of sight and not given the same opportunities as everyone else. Taking away resources and access for anyone, whether it’s through cuts to the Department of Education, USAID, the Veterans Administration, or other Executive Orders, puts a stumbling block in the path of our little ones. As Jesus reminds us, we are to “love one another…just as [he] ha[s] loved [us]” (John 13:34). This means that we care for those in need, we support and accept each other, and we do not take actions that cause one another to stumble.

The Rev. Craig Alan Satterlee, Ph.D., Bishop