WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.
Congress, since it created the Department of Education, still needs to authorize its elimination.
A White House fact sheet states that the order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon “to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure (of) 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.”
Trump, in remarks before signing the order, said his administration would take “all lawful steps” to shut down the department but added that he wanted it eliminated “as quickly as possible.”
McMahon was present as he signed the order.
“Hopefully, she will be our last secretary of Education,” Trump said as he introduced McMahon. Trump later said he hopes to find another position for her.
Last week, the department announced that nearly half its workforce would be laid off starting March 21. Those layoffs are being challenged in court.
Trump has argued that eliminating the department and shifting education authority to the states would improve the U.S. school system’s global ranking.
Trump views the department as wasteful and has claimed it’s been overtaken by “radicals.”
Concern over what could happen next has mounted.
Key policies in jeopardy if Education Department is cut
More than 80% of school-age children, about 49 million students, attend traditional public schools that rely heavily on federal assistance.
About 10 to 14% of public schools’ budgets are allocated to programs and staff that oversee critical policies, such as Title 1, anti-discrimination measures, assistance for low-income students, free lunches and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which ensures protections for students with disabilities.
Colleges brace for grants, aid losses
Colleges and universities are preparing for the potential loss of critical grants and aid.
Additionally, there is some concern over the oversight of for-profit colleges and Pell Grants — and a question of how $1.6 trillion in federal student loans could be impacted.
Trump said the Department of Education’s “useful functions such as Pell grants, Title I funding, resources for children with disabilities and special needs will be fully preserved.”
“They are going to be preserved in full and redistributed to other agencies and departments,” he said Thursday.
Curriculum and learning standards will likely not be affected since those are generally handled at state and local levels.
GOP: US is lagging in student scores
Republicans have pointed to issues such as declining test scores as justification for significant changes.
National test scores have indicated students are lacking fundamental skills.
The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress, conducted every two years, revealed average math scores for eighth graders remained unchanged from 2022, but a third scored below “basic” levels in reading — the highest number in the assessment’s history.
Critics slam order to eliminate Education Department
The American Federation of Teachers has argued the cuts “will gut the agency and its ability to support students, throwing federal education programs into chaos across the country.”
“See you in court,” Randi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers, said about the order.
Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said Trump’s order will disproportionately hurt low-income students, students of color and those with disabilities.
“Attempting to dismantle the Department of Education is one of the most destructive and devastating steps Donald Trump has ever taken,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said. “This. Will. Hurt. Kids.”
Hawaiian Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz said everything the Trump administration does because of “efficiency and savings is about one thing: enriching the richest people to ever walk the planet.”
“This time, it’s our children who will pay for it with their futures,” Schatz said.
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., called Trump’s order a “reckless betrayal of America’s commitment to ensuring that every child, regardless of their geographical location or socioeconomic status, has the ability to access a free, high-quality public education.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said Trump’s “illegal destruction” of the Education Department will directly hurt students in his state, Connecticut.
“At a time when we should be investing more resources in our students’ success, President Trump is fully abandoning what’s left of the federal government’s commitment to public education,” Blumenthal said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.