Department of Education

Since President Donald J. Trump took office, (January 20th, 2025), he has wasted no time putting all his plans and promises into effect. He began his term by pardoning January 6th rioters, beginning mass deportations, revoking DEI programs that prevent discrimination in the workforce, and even renaming The Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America”, because that was the most important thing to do.

Despite Trump denying his involvement with Project 2025 during the election, he has been making all their ideas a reality as the days go by. One of the greater issues people have about his presidency is his plan to abolish The Department of Education. But, what does that mean exactly?

The Department of Education was founded on October 17th, 1979, by President Jimmy Carter. Its purpose was to provide direct financial assistance to US schools, protect students from discrimination, oversee federal aid to College students, and collect data on schools. It is also the creator of the Title I program and The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which provides additional funding to public schools that have a high percentage of lower-income students and allows students with disabilities to have free public education. While abolishing the Department of Education will not make all schools disappear, it will create a multitude of issues when it comes to public schools and students in unfortunate circumstances. Students can be targets for discrimination or may not be able to afford school and extracurriculars. A lot of families rely on school lunches and transportation and if the Department is abolished then families have to accommodate themselves to the new norm.

Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association has said that Trump getting rid of the Department of Education would steal resources from students, dramatically increase class sizes, make higher education more expensive and out of reach for lower and middle-income families, take away special education, and completely ruin student civil rights protections.

The Department of Education is still here, however Trump has already started making moves to dismantle it. Putting staff on administrative leave and also pressuring workers to quit their jobs. He also has the direct support of The Department of Government Efficiency, managed by Elon Musk, who is a known supporter and patron of President Trump. Elon’s team has already begun canceling 900 million dollars worth of contracts associated with the Department of Education. So with all of these things answered, can Trump just get rid of it?

Will it be gone before we even know it? Thankfully, it is not that easy. The Department of Education was created by Congress, so for it to be eradicated, that order would need to go by Congress itself. The number of votes Trump would need from Congress is the majority of 60 votes in the Senate, after passing it through the White House (AKA, himself).

That means he would need all Republican Senators and 7 Democrats to get rid of the department. Now this issue can either be immediately brought to Congress and decided on today or it could take months or years to even be considered. This situation is completely in Congress’s hands but that does not mean you do not have a voice. Call your senators and representatives of your state(Which can be found on the Congress website) and tell them your concerns so when the time comes your opinion weighs their decision.