Donald Trump, who has a reputation of being unpredictable and disorganized, took a major step by issuing an order on March 20 to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. This followed a campaign promise he had made to dismantle the federal agency formed in 1979 to administer education laws to schools. Surrounded by schoolchildren in the White House, Trump proudly held up the signed order, claiming, “We’re going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible. It’s doing us no good.” He emphasized, “We’re going to return education back to the states where it belongs.”
What Is the Department of Education?
The Department of Education, a Cabinet-level department established by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, plays an important role in supervising national education policy and offering federal aid to schools throughout the nation. It assists in dispersing money, gathers school information, enforces anti-discrimination standards, and oversees the enforcement of education legislation signed into law by Congress.Of interest, the department does not set school curriculum; that role is left to states and districts.
University of Delaware Professor Dominique Baker pointed to the department’s intense interaction with higher education. The agency is charged with ensuring that students receive federal financial aid, shielding them from fraudulent for-profit schools, and managing federal student loan programs.
Today, the department oversees a budget of roughly $268 billion and has some 4,400 employees, representing merely 0.2% of federal employment.
Why Trump’s Disbanded the Department of Education?
Trump’s call to eliminate the Department of Education has been a consistent theme throughout his presidency. He has criticized it as part of a bloated federal bureaucracy and has long advocated for its closure. In September 2023, he stated, “And one other thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education.” This decision is a part of Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for a potential second Trump term.
While signing the order, Trump lamented the efficacy of U.S. education, stating, “The US spends more money on education by far than any other nation but students rank near the bottom of the list in terms of success.” Nevertheless, it is still unclear what moves the administration will make, including which programs will be impacted. The directive mandates Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to enable the closure” and transfer control over education-related issues to state and local authorities.
While Trump is unable to abolish the Department of Education entirely without Congressional consent, his administration can impair its operation by reducing its budget and personnel. On March 12, the department announced that it would reduce its employees by about 50%, lowering the number of employees from 4,133 to about 2,183.
Impact on Teachers, Students, and Federal Student Loans
The cuts in the Department of Education proposed would have far-reaching implications for students and educators nationwide. The department is tasked with enforcing anti-discrimination law and aiding disadvantaged student groups. If abolished, some of these student-supporting programs may lose funding, with the most disadvantaged, such as physically challenged pupils, being the hardest hit.
Blair Wriston, senior manager at EdTrust, an education equity organization, warned that dismantling the department would harm early childhood literacy efforts. He emphasized, “We’re going to gut the agency completely that’s doing the real work here of gathering the research and evidence to help inform our practices.”
For federal student loan borrowers, the possible disruptions are troubling. Although the White House has assured that loan operations will remain intact, analysts fear that any reductions or changes in the department’s operations would slow down applications for loan forgiveness and impact millions of students attending college.
Public Reaction
The possibility of a Department of Education shutdown has alarmed most education activists. NAACP President Derrick Johnson referred to the action as ‘a dark day for Americans’, contending that Trump is ‘deliberately dismantling the basic functions of our democracy’.
National Education Association President Becky Pringle condemned the action, saying, “Trump and Elon Musk have leveled their wrecking ball against public schools and the futures of the 50 million rural, suburban, and urban students in America’s communities.”
Pringle threatened that if Trump prevails, it would mean larger class sizes, reductions in job training initiatives, exploding college tuition, and the elimination of special education programs for students with disabilities. She further stated, “Educators won’t be silent as anti-public education politicians try to steal opportunities from our students.”
Since this action is strongly opposed, it will probably be challenged in court. Pringle emphasized that education activists, parents, and allies will keep on struggling for well-funded schools so that all students can have a chance to succeed.
