Trump Signs Order Aimed at Dismantling Education Department

President Donald Trump has issued a bold executive order that could signal the beginning of the end for the Department of Education as we know it.

Key Insights

Trump has signed an executive order “empowering parents, states, and communities” to improve education outcomes by directing the closure of the Department of Education.
The Department of Education was created in 1979 and has faced significant criticism from Republicans.
Congressional approval would be needed to completely shutter the department.
The Trump administration plans to keep certain functions like student loans, grants, and Title I funding and eventually move them to separate departments.

Trump’s Executive Order: A Historic Move

President Donald Trump has instructed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to initiate steps to close down the Department of Education as much as possible within the constraints of current law. This executive order emphasizes placing educational control back into the hands of local communities and state governments. The administration criticizes federal interference, stating it has not effectively served American students, families, or teachers. The Department of Education was established in 1979, and many conservatives view it as a bureaucratic obstacle to educational advancement.

The Department of Education manages programs such as student loans and Pell Grants, likening its operations to a major bank. It also supports public schools with significant funding allocations, including $18 billion for low-income communities and $15 billion for students with disabilities. Despite Trump’s direction to dismantle the department a White House official clarified that functions like loans, Pell Grants, and Title I funding would be kept alive in a smaller Education Department before eventually being moved to other departments.

Education Reforms and Challenges

Critics of the Department of Education argue it has not fulfilled its purpose of elevating student achievement and global competitiveness. President Trump’s order, viewed as a definitive step towards long-standing conservative goals, aligns with these sentiments. “We’re going to eliminate it, and everybody knows it’s right,” Trump said at the White House this past week. “We’re not doing well with the world of education in this country, and we haven’t for a long time.”

Reports indicate fully eliminating the Department of Education would still require Congressional approval. Such approval would demand 60 votes total and seven Democrats to vote alongside all Republicans.

The executive order represents a significant shift in U.S. educational policy. Some critics have condemned efforts to shutter the department as unconstitutional, with almost two dozen Democratic attorneys general already filing a lawsuit before the executive order was signed.

Trump, on the other hand, stresses the executive order as a pivotal move towards educational reform and freedom for American families. Advocates suggest that returning educational decisions to states will empower educators and improve academic outcomes. “With today’s executive order, President Trump is delivering on his promise to the American people to dismantle the ineffective and bureaucracy-ridden U.S. Department of Education and return education to the states where it rightfully belongs. It is a historic day in our nation that takes us one step closer to the goal of education freedom for all families nationwide” Dr. Keri D. Ingraham, director of the Discovery Institute’s American Center for Transforming Education, said.