How will Donald Trump’s plans for education affect Chicago Public Schools?

Bobby Reyes fears what a wholesale elimination of the U.S. Department of Education might mean for his two daughters — ages 10 and 12.

They attend William J. Onahan Elementary School in the 41st Ward, the only ward where the new President-elect Donald J. Trump carried a majority of votes in a very blue-leaning Chicago. Just several blocks from their school, a neighborhood where Reyes said many police officers and firefighters live, a group recently sold Trump merchandise on the street corner.

"And it was welcomed," Reyes said.

Trump repeatedly made promises on the campaign trail to dismantle the Department of Education and change funding priorities toward private schools and other educational expenses, which worries Reyes. Like other parents and educational advocates in Chicago, he said he would do whatever it takes to "ensure (his) kids get the proper education they need from all realms and all voices."

Education policy experts say the 47th incoming president's plans to expand education savings accounts (where families get taxpayer money to help pay tuition for private schools), limit and reshape American history curriculums and shift budget priorities from programs that benefit low-income students have the potential to create a tumultuous transition for Chicago students.

While some groups in Illinois are in favor of his vision, policy experts say if he follows through on his plans, there will be less recourse for communities and parents to stand up for their rights to a safe and welcoming school environment.

Across the board, there would be less protection for students in Chicago, said OiYan Poon, senior research fellow at the Thurgood Marshall Institute. Poon's daughter attends a CPS school that would be directly affected by the suggested slashing of funding channels by Trump's team, she said.

"(My daughter) has been really worried about what's going to happen, what will Trump do," Poon said.

How likely is it that Trump can shut down the Department of Education? Trump has repeatedly said he wants to shut down the Department of Education and give more responsibilities to states, but it's unclear how exactly he will chip away at the federal governing body. To do so would require an act of Congress.

Most of what the Department of Education does is oversee Congress' appropriations and distribute them to states and districts. Shutting it down completely would take a lot of work, said Josh Cowen, professor of education policy at Michigan State University. He said that the Department of Education is more likely to wield power not by dissolving the Department of Education, but by shutting off specific funding streams to cities like Chicago.

"If there's anything that Chicago Public Schools are benefiting from with the word diversity, with the word equity, with the word inclusion, any particular programs targeting migrant students, any grants that have been won by the district or the city to support LGBTQ youth. Those are all candidates for targeting and cutting," Cowen said.

Funding from the U.S. government makes up just 16 percent of the district's $8.4 billion operating revenues, said CPS Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez in a recent meeting with City Council. While most of CPS' budget comes from local sources like property taxes, federal money goes toward funding to supplement the state's portion of the budget and toward meals for primarily for low-income students, Martinez said.

But federal funding has decreased compared to previous years, as pandemic relief dries up. The district's 2024 budget included over $670 million of federal relief funding and its 2025 budget less than half that amount. In 2026, CPS will no longer have any relief money, Martinez said.

And for months, the district has faced insurmountable budget deficits as the teachers union works to negotiate a new and demanding contract.

Any potential funding cuts from the federal level could worsen an already red budget gap, some CPS parents told the Tribune.

"If (Trump's policies) take public funding away from public schools ... I would be very concerned," said Katherine Marin, who has three kids at Onahan.

Marin held her 4-year-old daughter Lily's hand as she crossed the street.

"I'm really happy with the people here. I don't want to move my kids," Marin said.

What would it mean to shutter the U.S. Department of Education? The Department of Education has several key responsibilities. It administers Title I funding, a federal program that provides additional money to schools with a high percentage of low-income students. As of April, approximately 86 percent of district-run schools qualify for Title I discretionary funding , according to CPS.

It also helps ensure equal access to educational opportunities through Pell grants, which help students pay for college. Nationwide, 34% of undergraduate students receive a Pell Grant, according to the Education Data Initiative. The average Pell Grant award is $4,491.

Every year, the Department of Education receives and responds to thousands of discrimination complaints in schools for gender, religious and racial discrimination, among other civil rights abuses. It acts as a check on students who may otherwise fall through the cracks, said Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, a doctoral student at Harvard who researches inequality and education.

Elimination of this federal oversight measure would be bleak, Opoku-Agyeman said.

"This is going to disproportionately affect Black and Latinx students," Opoku-Agyeman said. "Now someone can be discriminatory and get away with it."

Opoku-Agyeman cited policies in Project 2025, hundreds of pages of detailed plans for Trump's second term authored by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation. Trump has tried to put distance between himself and the report, though it was put together by 100 of his former staffers.

In its lengthy section on education, Project 2025 blames the federal government's "endless rules and regulations" for slow and ineffective student outcomes. It calls for the gutting of the Department of Education and the elimination of federal poverty grants to schools while creating a voucher program to help fund private education.

Illinois lawmakers let its tax-credit scholarship program for private school students lapse last year. At the time, supporters of the tax credit said it gave children in low-income families a shot at a better education, while opponents argued it failed to adequately benefit those kids and chipped away at public education. A shift in priorities away from public schools could funnel more money into programs like the tax-credit scholarship, said Cowen from Michigan State.

To be sure, some groups in Illinois are in favor of Trump's approach.

"I welcome President-elect Trump's efforts to reform schooling, prioritize education over indoctrination for our children, and put our families above special interest groups like the Chicago Teachers Union," said Kathy Salvi, chair of the Illinois Republican Party in a statement.

The Illinois Policy Institute said any questions about how Project 2025 might impact public education in Chicago would be outside the scope of what they could comment on regarding CPS.

What will the effects be in the classroom?

The Department of Education does not operate public schools or dictate curriculum content. That is a responsibility left to the school board and state legislators.

Therefore, Trump's arguments that the Bible should be read in school and his emphasis on teaching patriotism will likely look different in Illinois than in Texas or Florida — which have passed different policies to review and ban books deemed controversial, and against the use of gender pronouns in schools.

CPS has taken a different approach. The day after the election, the district's CEO Pedro Martinez sent an email to parents and staff with a clear message: "Please know that we are here to support you and that our priorities and core values will not waver in the days ahead," he wrote. "Our core values of equity, student-centered decision-making, and community partnership will continue to guide us."

"The District is dedicated to safeguarding our students and families, allowing them to focus on learning within our schools," said a CPS spokesperson in a statement to the Tribune. "To achieve this, CPS continuously works to ensure that students see themselves reflected in the curriculum by incorporating LGBTQ+, disabled, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, and other historical figures into its lessons."

While Gov. JB Pritzker has vowed to protect educational freedom in Illinois, OiYan Poon of the Thurgood Marshall Institute cited plans under Project 2025 to retaliate against districts or states who haven't adopted an anti-trans and anti-equity agenda.

For example, the federal government could threaten to not fund education if certain topics continue to be taught in schools, Poon said.

Poon said kids are "naturally curious about the social world around them," which extends to conversations about their own identities. Her daughter is Chinese and Thai.

"I appreciate Pritzker's moxie. But I'm really curious to see how, when push comes to shove, if (Trump's education agenda) does come to bear, what will our governor do?" she asked.

Chicago Tribune's Sarah Macaraeg contributed.