A preliminary executive order calling for the elimination of the Department of Education has been drafted for President Donald Trump, as reported by USA TODAY.
Trump has long touted ending the federal agency, even before his administration began slashing the federal workforce through Elon Musk and the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency.
But the Education Secretary, billionaire GOP donor and former head of World Wrestling Entertainment Linda McMahon, has acknowledged that dismantling the agency entirely won’t happen without Congress.
The White House said it will not sign an executive order related to the Department on Thursday, though multiple outlets have reported he could sign the order this week.
What’s the purpose of the Education Department? And what happens if it gets dismantled? Here’s what to know.
More: President Trump preps executive order to dismantle Education Department
What does the Department of Education do?
While K-12 curricula is largely under the purview of local governments, the Department of Education plays a supporting role in K-12 school through funding. The agency also oversees colleges to ensure legal compliance and federal student aid.
The agency is tasked with the following duties:
- Ensuring K-12 schools comply with federal laws in order to receive funding (federal money makes up approximately a tenth of public school funding). Among other things, those laws protect students and teachers from discrimination and guarantee education for those with disabilities.
- Overseeing the country’s colleges and universities, most of which receive federal funding, by ensuring they are in compliance with federal statues to ensure equal educational opportunity for students, “regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age,” the Department says.
- Helping students afford college through administering student aid, loans and grants.
- Tracking education outcomes to determine where the most support is needed for students.
History of the Department of Education
The original Education Department was created in 1867 as a way to collect information on schools to help the country create effective school systems. The mission of the agency was expanded and revised during World War II and subsequently the civil rights movements in the 1960s and 1970s.
Congress elevated the Department to a Cabinet level agency in 1980.
“Despite the growth of the Federal role in education, the Department never strayed far from what would become its official mission: to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access,” the Education Department website states.
Department of Education received 2% of federal funding in FY 2024
According to USA Spending, the Education Department received $241.66 billionin budgetary resources in the 2024 fiscal year, which constituted 2% of the entire federal budget.
The funding goes to 10 subcomponents in the agency, but the vast majority of it goes to just one: the Office of Federal Student Aid, which received $179.65 billion in FY 2024.
While the department has a relatively high discretionary spending budget, it has the smallest staff of the 15 Cabinet agencies, the website states. That information was last updated before the widespread cuts to federal workforces, including dozens of Education Department employees who were put on leave, according to multiple reports.
Contributing: Zachary Schermele, Joey Garrison
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected], and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.
