The Truth About DOE’s Degree Reclassification: How It Targets Black Women & the Middle Class

A quiet but consequential shift is unfolding inside the U.S. Department of Education (DOE)—and its impact is poised to fall heaviest on Black women, working professionals, and America’s middle class.

At the center of the issue is a new degree reclassification effort, a policy change that appears technical on the surface but carries profound social, economic, and political implications. As explained by Anne Marie Archer of AntiHR®, this shift isn’t about devaluing anyone’s credentials; it’s about exposing how restructuring federal definitions can reshape who gets access to opportunity, resources, and mobility.

Why It Matters

Degree classifications play a significant role in:

• How employers evaluate qualifications

• How federal programs allocate funding

• Who gains access to advanced roles

• How data informs policy decisions

Reclassification may alter these systems in ways that disproportionately harm Black women—who are among the fastest-growing groups pursuing higher education and advanced degrees—while also destabilizing middle-class professionals who depend on federally recognized credentials to maintain career trajectories.

The Bigger Picture: A Push to Dismantle the Department of Education

The supporting reporting reveals that the degree issue is tied to a broader, more aggressive political agenda.

Recent moves by the Trump administration have begun outsourcing primary DOE responsibilities to other agencies, signaling an incremental dismantling of the department itself. Programs within the Office of Postsecondary Education have already been scattered across multiple federal bodies. Meanwhile, three cornerstone offices—Federal Student Aid (FSA), Special Education, and Civil Rights—remain intact but vulnerable.

Proposals under consideration include:

• Moving FSA (which manages Pell Grants and federal student loans) to the Small Business Administration

• Relocating Special Education programs to Health and Human Services

• Potentially shifting the Office for Civil Rights to the Department of Justice

Despite assurances that services will continue, experts warn that dispersing these programs threatens oversight, reduces accountability, and weakens protections for marginalized groups—particularly Black students, disabled students, and low-income families.

What’s Really at Stake

This isn’t just bureaucratic reshuffling. It’s a long-game strategy that could:

• Undermine civil rights enforcement

• Complicated access to financial aid

• Create confusion around the degree value

• Limit educational equity nationwide

For Black women and middle-class workers, the combination of degree reclassification and departmental dismantling could erode both earning power and upward mobility.

The Bottom Line

The DOE’s reclassification moves—and the broader effort to break apart the department—represent more than administrative change. They expose a political agenda that redefines the value of education itself, while quietly reshaping the landscape of opportunity in ways that disproportionately affect the communities already fighting hardest for representation, recognition, and resources.

References:

Archer, A. M. [AntiHR®]. (2025, November). The Truth About DOE’s Degree Reclassification | How It Targets Black Women & the Middle Class [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/qRHGUrcDQEU

Blake, J. (2025, November 25). Five things to know about McMahon’s plan to break up ED. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/student-aid-policy/2025/11/25/five-things-know-about-mcmahons-plan-break-ed

Arundel, K. (2025, November 18). Education Department outsources program management to other agencies. Higher Ed Dive. https://www.highereddive.com/news/education-department-outsources-program-management-interagency-agreements/805830/

Binkley, C. (2025, November 18). Trump administration takes major step toward dismantling the Education Department. AP News / Federal News Network. https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reorganization/2025/11/education-department-offloads-some-work-to-other-agencies-as-trump-presses-for-its-closure/

Inside Higher Ed. (2025, November 3). Under McMahon, ED is diminished but not dead, experts say. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/11/03/under-mcmahon-ed-diminished-not-dead-experts-say