TL;DR
If the proposed ED shutdown and Title I cuts under Project 2025 move forward, the fallout may be catastrophic: 180,000 teacher positions eliminated, 2.8 million vulnerable students impacted, and an already strained public education system pushed to the brink.
Red states, despite leading the charge for smaller government, are disproportionately dependent on Title I funding. Within those states, minority-majority districts bear the brunt. Cuts to Title I would represent an unraveling of a system designed to provide a baseline of educational opportunity for students in high-poverty schools.
Red States Stand to Lose the Most – Why go Along?
The states that rely most on federal education funding support the ideological push behind DOGE and Project 2025.
The top 10 recipients of Title I funding as a % of total expenditure per student:
1. Mississippi
2. Louisiana
3. Alabama
4. South Dakota
5. New Mexico
6. Kentucky
7. Wyoming
8. Oklahoma
9. Arkansas
10. Florida
That’s odd, right? Why are the states that benefit most also politically aligned to cutting ED and potentially Title I?
The answers can be found by diving down to the district level. E.g., in Wyoming, Fremont County School District 21—which serves the Wind River Reservation—receives $3,831 per low-income student, which is 3x more than what affluent, majority White districts in Wyoming receive. This pattern is repeated in other states.
Now proceed to Google, and search for images of the GOP congressional delegations from those most dependent states—it doesn’t matter whether you look for the State or Federal delegations. Do you see any trends?
Minority-Majority Districts in Red States
Within Republican-led states, Title I is a lifeline for majority-Black, Hispanic, and Native American districts. The DOGE / Project 2025’s proposed gutting of ED and Title I would strip away funding where it’s needed most:
- In the Deep South: High-poverty, historically Black school districts in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana receive some of the highest Title I allocations.
- Along the U.S.-Mexico Border: Texas border districts serving predominantly Hispanic students would lose millions in funding.
- In Native American Communities: Tribal schools, like those in South Dakota and Wyoming, would take a direct hit.
This isn’t an unintended consequence. It’s an intentional rollback of policies meant to ensure equitable access to education.
Schools Without Teachers
Title I fund programs and it funds people. Cutting or eliminating Title I means eliminating teaching positions.
- Louisiana: 12.35% of teaching jobs lost
- Mississippi: 9.66%
- Alabama: 8.5%
- Florida: 8.5%
Another Opening for the Administration
The recently passed budget resolution didn’t directly slash Title I, but it left the door open.
The bill gives the Trump administration broad discretion over education funding, making it easier to divert, withhold, or quietly phase out key programs. Programs without explicitly detailed funding lines—like Title I—are especially vulnerable.
If the administration chooses to freeze or reduce spending, school districts might not even know the full impact until mid-year, when budget shortfalls hit. By then, it will be too late to course-correct.
Gutting Public Education
Project 2025 is about redirecting taxpayer dollars away from public education and into private and religious schools. The plan explicitly aims to:
- Abolish the Department of Education
- Defund public schools to shift money toward private institutions
- Roll back Title IX protections
- Cut funding for school nutrition programs
The low-income, high-minority school districts hit hardest are the least likely to have the resources to fight back.
What’s Next?
The numbers are clear. Schools in minority-majority districts in red states will be left scrambling to fill massive funding gaps.
Without Title I:
- Students in high-poverty schools will lose critical resources (tutors, counselors, support programs).
- Teacher shortages will worsen, in both rural and urban districts.
- Achievement gaps will widen, disproportionately harming students of color.
