The President aims to keep his campaign promise to return education to the states.
“We’re going to end education coming out of Washington, DC!” then-candidate Donald J. Trump exclaimed during a campaign video. On Monday, that promise came one step closer to fruition with reports that an executive order is being prepared, “that would shut down all functions of the agency that aren’t written explicitly into statute or move certain functions to other departments”. President Trump added to the speculation by responding to a question about the purpose of nominating Linda McMahon to be Secretary of Education in light of these reports by explaining, “I told Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job.”
The Department of Education (ED) is the smallest of the Cabinet-level arms of the executive branch, with about 4,400 employees and a budget of $238 billion in 2024. Much of that spending is in the form of loans and grants to support college tuition costs outside of the control of officials at ED. The federal government funds public K-12 schools throughout the country through about $20 billion in grants. These grants are nicknamed by their division within the original 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Title I funding is to help low-income students with remedial learning; Title II funds teacher training and salaries; Title III supports English-language learners; and, Title IV funds wrap-around services and technology in the classroom.
Critics of ED point out that since its inception in 1980, and despite trillions in spending on programs since then, student test scores have remained stagnant at best while costs have soared. The most recent results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, an assessment of student learning overseen by the Department of Education itself and nicknamed The Nation’s Report Card, continued a trend of declining performance, highlighted by the finding that “Among 8th graders, fewer than one-in-three students were “proficient” readers. Thirty-three percent were “below basic.”
On the higher education front, critics point to grants funding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, deemed racial indoctrination by the Trump Administration. Additionally, the cost of college rises alongside the tuition support given out by the federal government.
Early reports suggest that the Department’s functions will be spun out to other agencies or stopped altogether, except where explicitly required by law. A bill introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is a simple one sentence and calls for the abolishment of ED by 2026.
Regardless of the reports, the Trump Administration has been busy in education policy in its first weeks in office. Executive Orders to expand education choice, end racial indoctrination in K-12 schooling, and promote career and technical education. At ED itself, press releases have announced the end of Obama and Biden-era Title IX rules to be replaced by a Trump 2020 policy, the “dismantling of DEI”, and a celebration of school choice week.
