The lives and futures of millions of children are now in jeopardy because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s egregious decision to allow the Trump Administration to proceed with efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. This decision is cruel, malicious, and morally indefensible. Eliminating the Department will harm generations of Americans, further undermine public education, jeopardize the rights of children with special needs, and reverse decades of civil rights progress that have sought to redress more than 400 years of systemic injustice.

The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) has long championed public education, justice, and equity for all students. Our faith affirms that every human being is made in the imago Dei—the image and likeness of God—and is endowed with the right to reach their full, God-given potential.

As stated in our 1999 policy statement, The Churches and the Public Schools at the Close of the Twentieth Century:

“…[P]ublic schools are the primary route for most children—especially the children of poverty—into full participation in our economic, political, and community life. As a consequence, all of us, Christians and non-Christians alike, have a moral responsibility to support, strengthen, and reform the public schools. They have been and continue to be both an avenue of opportunity and a major cohesive force in our society—a society becoming daily more diverse racially, culturally, and religiously.”

These words are even more urgent today. The administration’s embrace of Project 2025—a sweeping, regressive agenda that includes eliminating the Department of Education and instituting government-sanctioned inequities—places our nation’s children and their futures in peril. Denying educational opportunity to the most vulnerable among us will not make America great; it will diminish our global standing and moral credibility.

In a moment when our nation is on the brink of inflicting great harm upon multiple generations by dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, we are reminded of a Maasai greeting, which translates to, “And how are the children?” The question is asked rather than a traditional salutation because of their belief that if the children are well, then the community and society are also well.

Today, our answer is clear: the children are not well.
They are at risk.
They are in harm’s way.

NCC prays that the lower court rulings will ultimately be upheld, justice will be restored, and these devastating actions will be reversed. The future of our children—and our nation—depends on it.