I feel like tearing down the Department of Education is more about putting Black, Latino, and pretty much minority students at an academic disadvantage.
In other words, they are looking to “dumb down” these populations of students as a way of setting them up to fail once they reach adulthood, either because of having a lack of college access or not receiving the proper education in k-12 because funding and resources were cut.
Public schools, for the most part, are predominantly non-white, and private schools and Catholic/Charter schools are not feasible for low-income and working-class (not middle-class) families.
Department of Education isn't perfect, but completely abolishing it with no alternative isn't going to make the educational situation in the US any better.