ARTICLE UPDATE 3/20/2025:
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Thursday to close the U.S. Department of Education, the White House confirmed.
According to NBC, Trump will hold an event at the White House to sign the order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
Closing the department requires congressional approval but Trump’s order could effectively make it nearly impossible for employees to carry out their duties.
Last week, the department laid off nearly 50% of its workforce. When Trump was inaugurated, the department had 4,133 employees. After the announcement, the workforce now stands at about 2,183 employees. The reduction includes nearly 600 employees who accepted voluntary buyouts.
ARTICLE UPDATE – 3/6/2025:
Multiple sources are reporting that President Donald Trump is expected this week to direct new Education Secretary Linda McMahon to dissolve the U.S. Department of Education by executive order, which would return authority over education to the states.
A draft of the executive order, which would require congressional approval, calls on McMahon to facilitate the department closure by taking all necessary steps “permitted by law,” ABC reports.
“The Federal bureaucratic hold on education must end. The Department of Education’s main functions can, and should, be returned to the States,” a draft of the president’s executive order says, according to sources familiar with the document. “The experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars – – and the unaccountable bureaucrats those programs and dollars support – – has failed our children, our teachers, and our families.”
The draft also instructs any program or activity receiving federal funding to “terminate” its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, citing concerns for race- and sex-based discrimination, according to ABC. Additionally, it directs McMahon to return decision-making authority to parents and families in order to improve the “education, well-being, and future success” of American children.
In a department-wide email on Monday, McMahon said her final mission is to do a “historic overhaul” of an agency that she alleges cuts red tape.
“This restoration will profoundly impact staff, budgets, and agency operations here at the Department,” she wrote. “In coming months, we will partner with Congress and other federal agencies to determine the best path forward to fulfill the expectations of the President and the American people.”
ORIGINAL ARTICLE – 2/4/2025:
Multiple news outlets reported Monday that President Donald Trump and his administration are preparing an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that officials have discussed an order that would “shut down all functions of the agency that aren’t written explicitly into statute or move certain functions to other departments,” citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The Washington Post also reported that the order would not eliminate the agency entirely but instead “directs the agency to begin to diminish itself.”
While no executive order has been signed, a White House official told the Post that one is in the works for later this month and “will fulfill Trump’s campaign pledge to defund the department.”
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Inside Higher Ed also reports that other sources familiar with ongoing discussions told the outlet as early as Friday that the order would at least direct Secretary Patrick Tutwiler to come up with a plan to disassemble the department.
Some administration officials, including those working with Secretary-nominee Linda McMahon, say the White House should wait to release any executive order until her Senate confirmation hearing, according to The Wall Street Journal. McMahon’s hearing has not yet been scheduled as the Senate is awaiting her ethics paperwork.
Dozens of Education Department Employees Already Placed on Administrative Leave
Dozens of Education Department employees were placed on administrative leave Friday for allegedly attending a diversity training course encouraged by then-Secretary Betsy DeVos during the first Trump administration, The Hill reports.
The letters sent to Education Department employees on Friday said they were getting placed on leave due to Trump’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) order and guidance from the Office of Personnel Management, which has told agencies to eliminate positions associated with DEI. Federal employees have allegedly been threatened with punishment if they attempt to conceal that efforts or programs were DEI-related.
Sheria Smith, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, told NBC News at least 55 employees received the letter.
What Does the Education Department Do?
According to the Education Department’s website, the agency’s mission it to “promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access for students of all ages.” While the Education Department wears many hats, in part, it protects student rights, largely through its Office of Civil Rights. The group investigates alleged discrimination complaints at K-12 schools and colleges, including sex discrimination in education programs and activities, which is protected under Title IX. The Education Department also enforces the Clery Act, a federal law that requires colleges and universities to disclose information about campus crime. It provides technical assistance and trainings to institutions of higher education to help them comply with the law.
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The agency says its other missions include:
- Administering federal funding appropriated by Congress to K-12 schools and managing the federal student loan and financial aid programs
- Supplementing and complementing the efforts of states, the local school systems and other instrumentalities of the states, the private sector, public and private nonprofit educational research institutions, community-based organizations, parents, and students to improve the quality of education
- Encouraging the increased involvement of the public, parents, and students in Federal education programs
- Promoting improvements in the quality and usefulness of education through Federally supported research, evaluation, and sharing of information
Why Does Trump Want to Eliminate the Education Department?
The push to dismantle the Education Department is part of the Trump administration’s campaign to shrink federal agencies and minimize the size of the government workforce in order to give more power to the states. Last week, the Trump administration began offering buyouts to federal employees. So far, more than 20,000 workers have taken the buyout, a senior administration official told Axios.
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Under the Biden administration, Republicans were critical of the Education Department, particularly as it relates to the decisions to extend discrimination protections in education to LGBTQ+ people and to forgive student loans. During a December interview with Time magazine, Trump said the U.S. is “at the bottom of every list in terms of education and we’re at the top of the list in terms of cost per pupil.”
“We want to move them back to the states, and we’ll spend half the money on a much better product,” he continued. “I believe we can compete with Norway and Denmark and Finland and other countries. And I will tell you, China is right at the top of the list too. Most lists.
